Vengeance
by TheNightFury
Summary: Sequel to Brothers? As everything falls into place for Merlin and Arthur, Morgana is planning Camelots demise, setting off a series of events that will test Arthur and Merlin's friendship and trust.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**Um so I kind of lied… this was inspired by a review left by ****MamzelleHermy**** who asked about Morgana and well… as much as I wanted to ignore it… the plot gorillas (yes gorillas, not bunnies, not monkeys, GORILLAS) finally decided it was time to answer that question. ** **This also in part was inspired by Cinderella 2… strange I know but the whole princess training was hilarious and I wondered 'Did Gwen have to go through training?' Yes inspiration comes in strange places for me but it gets you guys stories so who's complaining? Now I should stop this novel so you guys can start reading the real thing! Enjoy!**

The streets of Camelot were eerily quiet as an old woman, swathed in a thick, black cloak, slowly hobbled down the dark streets, past the empty stalls that held bright fabrics and colorful sweets and other goods during the day. The woman ignored her surroundings as she continued on to her destination; there was no time for her to dwell on those old memories. The woman quickly approached the castle, finally spotting the man she'd been looking for.

The man wore all black, his clothing matching his greasy hair almost perfectly.

"My lady," the man muttered, bowing slightly.

"Agravaine, is it true?" the old woman hissed.

The man, Agravaine, looked deeply troubled. "I fear it is so, my Lady."

"The hypocrite!" The woman spat. "Rejecting his own daughter the crown yet handing it over without a second thought to a servant!"

"I fear it only gets worse," Agravaine sadly informed her.

"What?" the woman hissed.

Agravaine took a deep, steadying breath; steeling himself for the verbal onslaught he'd soon face. "I fear… Arthur is to wed the servant girl Guinevere."

The woman was silent for several tense minutes, Agravaine waiting with barely controlled patience to see what the woman would say.

"Uther will regret this," she hissed.

"Of course, Morgana."

* * *

Merlin sighed deeply as he stared at the ceiling. _Gwen's probably been up for hours,_ he thought, feeling bad for his friend. Sir Greg and Madam Gisela were in charge of training royalty. People who were born into royalty, like Arthur, had been taught everything about royalty and etiquette since birth, but people who were made royalty like Merlin, and soon Gwen, had to get a crash course. Merlin himself had gone through the painful process less than a year ago and knew how horrible it was. Sir Greg and Madam Gisela were dry and boring. How Arthur stood them for so long was beyond him.

Heaving another sigh, Merlin slowly dragged himself out of bed for training.

Since Merlin's etiquette training was done, Arthur decided to start giving him proper training in swordsmanship. So far Merlin's few and only successes had happened when he resorted to magic, something Arthur did not appreciate.

"What will happen when you can't use magic?" Arthur would ask.

"You'd come to the rescue," Merlin replied, grinning slightly.

Arthur had raised an eyebrow and asked, "What if I can't help?"

"I'd be dead meat?" Merlin asked, shrugging.

"That's what I'd like to prevent," Arthur had sighed, swinging at Merlin. "Again!"

As hard as Merlin worked at it, though, he could not get the hang of the sword. It felt too heavy and awkward for him.

As Merlin hauled himself out of bed, there was a tentative knock at his door.

"Come in!" he called, already knowing it was Evan.

Evan, who was still shy around Merlin, quietly entered and set the breakfast tray on the table. If Merlin was honest with himself, this entire situation was still surreal to him. It was hard to believe that he, Merlin, was a prince! Shaking his head he pulled on one of his old shirts, Evan not even giving him a second glance. At first Evan had been just as surprised as everyone else when he wore his old 'servant clothes' but soon he stopped questioning it.

Once Merlin had finished breakfast, he left the castle and made his way to the lower town, deciding that he needed some fresh air.

As he made his way through the lower town, he couldn't help but grin when he noticed a very familiar dress whip around a corner. Quickly following, Merlin walked up behind Gwen.

"Fancy seeing you down here," he said calmly, causing Gwen to jump back, a small shout of surprise escaping her lips.

"Merlin!" Gwen scolded, clutching her chest. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"What are you doing here?" Merlin asked. "Shouldn't you be 'training' with Madam Gisela?"

"I could be asking you the same question," Gwen replied, eyeing Merlin.

"Madam Gisela and Sir Greg would have a fit if they saw us," Merlin commented, causing Gwen to giggle. Both Merlin and Gwen were dressed in what Madam Gisela had deemed "improper for…. Royalty to wear." Merlin couldn't help but grin at the memory. The way she'd said "Royalty" when looking at him made it seem like she too disapproved of Arthur's choice in giving him the ring that not only saved his life, but made him a part of the royal family. Merlin was pretty sure they disliked Arthurs engagement to Gwen just as much; seeing both of them as far beneath her.

"I can hear her now," Gwen agreed, and in a shrill voice imitating Gisela continued, "_What_ are you doing with such common filth?"

"I think they might have heart failure," Merlin agreed, unable to control his laughter.

"That might just make the extra work worth it," Gwen agreed.

Growing serious, Merlin added, "But honestly, Gwen, you should head back. If Uther finds out you've run off he'll send the guards… and have my head for 'corrupting' you."

Gwen's face fell and she sighed. "I know… I just couldn't take it anymore!"

"Was it dancing or table manners?" Merlin asked.

"Both, at the same time," Gwen sighed.

"What possesses them to think that's going to help?" Merlin wondered, shaking his head.

"Well when you're short on time and your students keep running off, it makes things difficult. They have to cut corners somehow," a voice commented, laughing slightly.

Groaning, Merlin turned to Gwaine, who stood with his arms crossed, smirking at the pair.

"Let me guess, Uther wants to see me in the throne room now because-" Merlin began.

Gwaine quickly assured him, "No, don't worry; Arthur was the one who sent me. Better hurry back before Uther _does_ notice, though."

"Fine," Merlin groaned, following Gwaine back to the castle.

"I do feel for you," Gwaine said after a few minutes of silence. "This insanity with etiquette and formalities is why I ran off."

"Why'd you come back to it?" Gwen asked.

"A friend needed me to," Gwaine said, locking eyes with Merlin.

Merlin opened his mouth to apologize but Gwaine shook his head. "Don't, Merlin. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to help Arthur. I chose this… unlike you."

"I could have said no…" Merlin muttered.

"At that point I think you were stuck," Gwaine corrected, shrugging. "Now I suggest you two hurry up and change before someone important sees you."

"I'm going, I'm going," Merlin grumbled, starting to walk off, but Gwaine grabbed his arm, preventing him from going.

Gwen stopped and looked back at the pair but Gwaine waved her off. "I just need a minute," he explained.

Gwen cast one last worried glance at the pair before making her way up the stairs.

"Yes?" Merlin asked, eyebrows raised.

"Things will get better once Arthur's king," Gwaine said, surprising Merlin.

"Why-"

"I can tell you aren't very happy," Gwaine replied. "As much as I don't like the princess's choices at times, I know things will get better once Uther's gone."

"For Arthur's sake, I hope it's when Uther is old and grey and not because an assassin takes him down," Merlin replied.

Gwaine let go of Merlin's arm just as Arthur's uncle, Lord Agravaine, exited the castle. Bowing deeply Agravaine said, "Good morning Sire."

Resisting the urge to roll, his eyes Merlin greeted him in return.

Agravaine scared Merlin; everything about the man felt wrong. Pushing the feelings aside, Merlin passed Agravaine and entered the castle.

"Shouldn't you be training?" Agravaine asked.

Merlin glared. It was going to be a long day.

**End Notes**

** What's Morgana planning? Well I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you thought!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**Fair warning, things get pretty crazy in this chapter**

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, Merlin couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He tried to push the thought aside, telling himself he was being stupid, but it was constantly there: a nagging voice at the back of his mind. It was really starting to affect his attention span, something Arthur quickly picked up on.

"Merlin, what is wrong with you today?" Arthur asked, helping Merlin to his feet for the umpteenth time since they started training. "You're not even trying."

"Sorry," Merlin mumbled. "Just distracted."

"Did something happen?" Arthur asked, immediately worried.

"No… well, not yet. It's just… I got this feeling that something bad is going to happen. I just can't shake it."

"Well there's nothing we can do but be prepared for the worst," Arthur said, looking troubled.

"What's the worst?" Merlin asked.

"I don't know. And I really hope I never find out."

* * *

That night, during the feast, Merlin sat tense in his seat as everyone else joked and talked. He and Arthur were seated on either side of Uther, with Gwen on Arthur's other side. Arthur and Gwen were talking animatedly to each other. Uther simply watched, a small smile on his face.

Merlin wanted to enjoy himself, but he just couldn't calm down. Sighing, he continued to pick at his food, longing to be able to just leave and hide in his chambers. Merlin hated being the center of attention, and coupled with his worry that something bad was going to happen, he was just about ready to have a nervous breakdown.

Evan suddenly appeared by Merlin's side, refilling his cup and whispering, "Is everything alright?"

"I'm worried," Merlin admitted.

Evan frowned slightly but backed away, not willing to draw attention to himself. Merlin looked over at Agravaine, noting his very smug look, making him feel even more uneasy. Everything just felt wrong; it was driving him insane. As soon as he felt it was safe to leave, Merlin excused himself and fled to his chambers, hoping the peace and quiet would help calm his nerves.

He couldn't figure out why he was so tense, his nerves were all over the place and it was draining him. Merlin sat down heavily in one of the plush seats and put his head in his hands, taking slow, deep breaths. After a few minutes of silence, he felt someone place a hand on his back. His body tensed and his gaze flew up to be met with a startled Arthur, whose hands went up in surrender.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Merlin's body slumped into the chair. "Sorry. My nerves are just shot."

"Did something happen?" Arthur asked, sitting down next to his friend.

"Not yet," Merlin sighed.

Arthur had opened his mouth to reply when all hell seemed to break lose. The warning bells started ringing and screaming could be heard from the courtyard below. Arthur stood up and ran for the door, only for it to blast open and throw him off his feet and onto the floor with a sickening crunch.

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted, running to his side.

"You've brought this on yourself, you know," a voice coldly informed him.

"Morgana?" Merlin breathed, turning to face her.

"Hello Merlin," Morgana greeted, a twisted smile on her face. "Or should I say Prince Merlin."

"Morgana, I didn't-" Merlin began, but Morgana wouldn't hear it.

"Save it for someone who cares!" Morgana snapped. "You wanted to be king, Merlin, so I'll let you. But in the end you will burn! In the end I will rule Camelot and you will be nothing but a distant memory!"

"I never wanted to be king!" Merlin shouted as Morgana vanished. "I didn't want any of this!" But she was already long gone.

As soon as she dissapeared, Arthur's eyes flew open. "What happened!"

"Morgana was here…" Merlin whispered numbly.

"What?" Arthur exclaimed.

"She wants revenge," Merlin explained weakly.

A guard appeared in the doorway shouting, "Sires! Please come quickly!"

"What's happened?" Arthur snapped as Merlin hauled him to his feet.

"It's the King!"

Arthur shoved the guard aside and ran out of the room, fear for his father pushing away any other thought. As the pair ran through the castle, Merlin kept a wary eye out for any more surprises. Arthur flung open the doors to Uther's chambers, not caring what anyone said. Merlin quickly followed after him.

"Father!" Arthur shouted as he caught sight of the room's sole occupant.

Merlin looked over at the bed and gasped. Uther lay on the bed, a large, deep gash stretching across his chest, bleeding heavily. Gaius stood over Uther, desperately trying to preserve his life, but Merlin could instantly tell it was hopeless.

Arthur collapsed next to the bed, clutching Uther's hand. Uther's eyes slowly opened. "Arthur? Are… y-you hurt?" he asked.

Merlin winced slightly at how weak Uther sounded.

Arthur shook his head. "What happened?"

Merlin could tell Arthur was desperately fighting back tears, so without really thinking about it he reached over and placed a hand on Arthurs shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Uther looked up at Merlin and glared at him with so much hatred that Arthurs ring, which had remained cold for months, started burning painfully.

"Him…" Uther growled.

"Father, Merlin would never do anything-" Arthur began, but he was interrupted by Uther.

"Morgana came because of that _sorcerer_."

"Merlin is no-" Arthur began, voice cracking, but Uther was beyond reason,

"You have sown the seeds of Camelot's destruction, _sorcerer_. I… hope you… burn… in… _hell_," Uther gasped before a painful spasm overtook him and he slumped into the pillows, completely still.

Merlin's whole body stiffened as Arthur shouted, "Father… no! Please listen!" Arthur choked on a sob and rounded on Gaius. "Save him!"

"There is nothing I can do…" Gaius whispered.

His whole body trembling, Merlin collapsed onto his knees next to Arthur and shakily wrapped an arm around him, Uther and Morgana's words echoing through his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

**Thanks to all of my amazing reviewers! You guys rock!**

_Burn, burn, BURN. _The word kept dancing through Merlin's mind as he sat outside the throne room, waiting for Arthur to emerge. Arthur had wanted to be alone to mourn for his father, but Merlin had wanted to show Arthur that he didn't have to be, so he decided he would wait there, no matter how long Arthur wanted to stay. They were friends, brothers, and family stuck together. The door opened and Arthur walked out, immediately spotting Merlin sitting on the floor, eyes glossy.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked.

Merlin slowly looked over at Arthur, a haunted look in his eyes. "I didn't want you to feel alone…"

Arthur's eyes shone with appreciation, but a frown crossed his face. "I should have listened to you… you were right…"

Merlin could immediately tell Arthur was blaming himself for what was happening. As much as he wanted to comfort him, Merlin knew that it wouldn't do any good.

"It's not over yet," he whispered.

"What?" Arthur breathed, terror instantly filling him, making his stomach turn painfully.

"Morgana must have told Uther I had magic…" Merlin muttered, mostly to himself.

"Why? And how did she find out about your magic?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know but that's the only plausible explanation for Uther knowing," Merlin muttered. "She said… she said I would be king, but that in the end I would burn… she wants me… us to suffer. She's going to try and kill you."

Merlin looked up at Arthur, looking completely vulnerable; terror written all across his pale features. Arthur leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting next to him, his best friend, the man who'd stood by his side through everything; now it was Arthur's turn to be there for him.

"We'll get through this, together," Arthur promised in a soft voice, hoping to calm Merlin down, but this only seemed to upset him even more.

"She's too powerful, Arthur! I can't possibly fight her!" Merlin exclaimed.

"We can do this," Arthur assured, "destiny doesn't lie, right?"

Merlin nodded his head weakly and Arthur smiled at him. He gave a weak smile, fear still filling his eyes.

Arthur slowly stood when he heard footsteps walking towards him, and was surprised when Leon, Elyan, Gwaine, Lancelot, and Percival appeared.

"Gaius told us everything," Gwaine said as explanation.

Arthur held a hand out for Merlin, who gingerly grabbed it as Arthur hauled him to his feet.

"Are you both alright?" Lancelot asked, concern written plainly across his features.

"We will be," Merlin muttered.

Turning to his men Arthur began, "You are my most trusted knights; you've proven yourselves on many occasions and have shown yourselves to be more courageous than any other knight I've ever trained." Gwaine grinned and straightened, looking pleased with himself. "I trust each one of you with my life; I hope you feel the same, because now more than ever we need to trust each other. I fear that there is a traitor in Camelot."

"Why? What happened?" Lancelot asked, clearly concerned.

"Somehow Morgana got into the castle undetected, and killed the king before coming to attack Merlin and myself."

"What!" Gwaine exclaimed in horror.

"She basically told us she'll be coming back, to make sure we suffer," Merlin whispered.

"We need to be prepared, we need to find and capture the traitor before they can help Morgana get into Camelot again. If you see anyone acting suspicious, figure out what they're doing and immediately report it to me."

"I'd start with Agravaine," Gwaine added. "That guy's been acting weird for days."

"He looked very… excited last night, right before the king was killed," Lancelot added.

Arthur frowned slightly. "Lancelot, Gwaine, can you too follow him? See what he's up to but _don__'__t_ let him know you're following him."

Lancelot and Gwaine nodded.

"This will be fun," Gwaine said, before he and Lancelot turned and ran off to do as asked.

"Percival, I want you to guard Merlin. Don't even try, Merlin. I want to know that someone who can use a sword is there to protect you if trouble does come," Arthur said. "You're the only real family I have left; I want to make sure you're safe."

"What about you?" Merlin demanded.

"Don't worry, Merlin, I'll keep an eye on him whether he wants it or not," Leon assured.

Arthur rolled his eyes and turned to Elyan. "Elyan, keep an eye on Gwen and be on the lookout for any suspicious activity."

"Yes, Sire," Elyan replied, before running off to find Gwen.

"Arthur, do you really think this will do anything to stop Morgana?" Merlin asked.

"We have to try," Arthur replied determinedly. "If we don't than we've already lost."

"This is all my fault…" Merlin muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked.

"Morgana is looking for revenge because she's angry at _me_!" Merlin exclaimed. "Your father is dead because of me!"

"If you're going off of that logic, then in all technicality it's my fault, not yours," Arthur argue, guilt settling in the pit of his stomach.

"You can't blame yourself for this!" Merlin exclaimed. "You've done nothing wrong!"

"Neither have you," Arthur countered. "Besides, Morgana is angry because you were named an heir and she was not. I was the one who gave you the ring, making you an heir; so really, I'm the one to blame…"

"Arthur, you couldn't have known what Morgana would do…" Merlin argued.

"If I may?" Leon cut in. "We need to stop trying to blame ourselves and figure out a way to stop Morgana before more innocent people get hurt."

"Leon's right," Arthur agreed. "We could go in circles all day trying to place the blame on someone. Right now we need to focus on Morgana."

Sighing, Merlin reluctantly nodded his head.

"Merlin can you look through your spell books?" Arthur continued. "See if there is anything that could stop Morgana."

Merlin nodded again and hurried off, followed closely by Percival.

"Arthur… I'm not sure if this has really hit you yet but… You are the king now…" Leon sad tentatively once the two were alone. He trailed off to let this sink in.

And then it finally hit Arthur. _I__'__m the King now._


	4. Chapter 4

** A/N**

**Hey guys! Sorry about the delay, things have been pretty crazy, but the chapter is FINALLY here! On a side note whose seen Wreck It Ralph? I thought it was really cute and well done. HIGHLY recommend it.**

* * *

Arthur stood in his chambers, staring out the window, his mind far away. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that his father was dead; he had expected Uther to die an old man and for himself to take the throne when he was much older and wiser, not so suddenly, like this. Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair, unable to focus on one thought for more than a few seconds. Regardless of what Merlin or his father said, Arthur didn't blame Merlin. Merlin was the kindest person he'd ever met, he'd never do anything intentionally to harm someone; _ever_.

That didn't make Arthur any more ready, though; he still had very little experience and was still terrified that he'd fail his people. Someone knocked on the door and Arthur took a deep breath to prepare himself for whatever this person wanted before calling them in. He frowned when Merlin slipped inside, head bowed.

"Merlin? Is something wrong? Where's Percival?"

"He's outside with Leon," Merlin assured. "I just… I wanted to come and see if you were… okay?" Merlin looked up at Arthur with a guilty expression. "I should have asked sooner but… things where pretty crazy."

Arthur sighed. "It was… shocking but… I'm alright."

"You're handling this better than I've ever handled someone's death," Merlin mumbled bitterly.

Arthur sighed and replied, "I've… I've had my time to mourn; now it's time to move on and deal with the threat."

"Is it hard?" Merlin asked softly.

"I've had to watch good men die in battle; I know that crying won't change anything. He did horrible things, things I don't think I can ever forgive…" Arthur muttered to himself.

"Does that make it easier to move on?" Merlin asked.

"Maybe," Arthur mumbled.

"It's hard to believe that after all this time you're going to be king…" Merlin whispered. "Can you believe it?"

"I'm afraid I'll fail," Arthur admitted.

"You won't fail," Merlin assured. "You'll be a great king."

Arthur smiled at Merlin. "And the first thing I'm going to do is legalize magic," he promised.

Merlin looked at him in surprise. "Really?" he asked breathlessly.

Grinning, Arthur nodded and Merlin sat down heavily in one of his plush chairs, mind reeling. Merlin knew Arthur accepted magic and that he knew this was a good thing, but after so many years of having to hide, it was hard to accept that he was finally free.

"You okay?" Arthur asked, slightly worried.

"I'm… free…" Merlin breathed. "I don't have to hide…"

Arthur frowned. "I know about your magic and I know magic is good so… why are you so surprised?"

"I knew that it would happen someday but… I didn't think it would be so soon… After twenty-five years, magic is free…"

"You don't have to fear anymore," Arthur agreed, grinning.

* * *

The next morning as Arthur got ready, he forced himself to take deep breaths to try and calm his nerves. _You won__'__t fail,_ Arthur told himself firmly. _Merlin believes in you. Your men believe in you, Gwen believes in you, so why can__'__t you believe in yourself?_ If Arthur was honest with himself, it was almost too much to handle: the threat of Morgana; Uther's sudden death; the fear of what would happen to his people. It was crushing him. Arthur started pacing, trying to calm his buzzing nerves, but it did little to distract him.

Arthur heard the bell and sighed, it was time for the coronation. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves he made his way to the throne room, the walk up to where Geoffrey stood seeming endless. Arthur tried to take deep breaths to calm himself, but it did little to help. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his knights. He was touched that Lancelot, Elyan, Percival, Leon, and even Gwaine stood in the front; all looking proud and ready to serve. On the other side of the room Arthur spotted Merlin, who was beaming at him, a proud Gaius standing at his side.

Arthur wanted to look over at Gwen, who he knew was standing in the corner, but he knew it wouldn't be proper so instead he kneeled down in front of Geoffrey, who immediately began the ceremony. Arthur, his mind a jumbled mess, wasn't really paying attention to what the old librarian was saying, mind automatically answering when prompted to.

"By the sacred power invested in me, I crown you King Arthur of Camelot!"

Arthur felt the crown being set on his head, and he stood and turned to his people.

"Long live the king!"

Immediately everyone started chanting, "Long live the king! Long live the king!"

* * *

A few days later while in a meeting with the council, the doors were thrown open; Arthur, thinking it was Morgana attacking again, whipped out his sword along with Leon and Percival, not relaxing his stiff posture even when he saw it was Elyan who had burst in.

"Sire, Gwaine and Lancelot have caught Agravaine with Morgana!" Elyan exclaimed.

"Were they able to capture him?" Arthur asked, his expression stony.

As answer, Lancelot and Gwaine came in, Agravaine in-between them.

"Unhand me!" he snarled. "I am the kings trusted advisor I-"

"Save it, Agravaine!" Arthur snapped, glaring at his uncle.

Merlin tentatively stood next to Arthur, eyeing Agravaine wearily.

Smirking, Agravaine said, "Killing me won't stop Morgana. She's more powerful than your pet sorcerer," Agravaine informed them, smirking in Merlin's direction.

"How did Morgana find out about Merlin's magic?" Arthur demanded.

"Morgana has her ways."

"So there are more spies in Camelot?"

"There are many within Camelot who have no loyalty towards the King," Agravaine snapped.

"You are nothing but a traitor, Agravaine, for that, by the laws of Camelot, I sentence you to death," Arthur said icily. "You will be executed tomorrow at dawn."

"I am no traitor!" Agravaine snarled. "I have ensured that the rightful heir of Camelot will sit upon the throne!"

"You were directly involved in the murder of the King," Arthur replied. "That alone makes you a traitor."

"Don't worry, I have ensured that a Pendragon will sit on the throne for a very long time," Agravaine hissed, a menacing smile on his face.

Ignoring him, Arthur snapped, "Get him out of my sight!"

Once Agravine was gone, Elyan turned to Arthur. "How are we going to find the other traitors?"

Arthur sighed, thinking hard. "Elyan, have guards at every entrance into Camelot, I want to know who's leaving and where they are going; make sure there are guards constantly by Agravaine's cell. No one is to speak to him."

"Yes, Sire," Elyan replied, running off to do as Arthur asked.

Arthur looked over at Merlin again, who was staring at the spot where Agravaine had been, face horribly pale. "Merlin?" he asked causing Merlin to jump, "are you alright?" Arthur looked Merlin over, noticing how tense he was.

"I'm scared," Merlin admitted. "I'm scared that everything we're doing won't be enough, I'm scared that you'll die and… you're my best friend and… I can't be king…" A whirlwind of emotions were running through Merlin's mind, refusing to give him peace.

"Merlin, I understand that you're scared. We all are. I promised we'd get through this; and I intend to keep that promise."

"I just hope what we're doing will be enough…" Merlin muttered, echoing Arthur's thoughts exactly.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

**Here's the next chapter guys. After this things start getting pretty crazy. Thanks to all of my amazing reviewers!**

* * *

After the meeting, a feeling of dread filled Merlin, similar to what he felt right before Uther had been killed. He wanted to blame it on his shot nerves; he hadn't slept properly since the night before Uther had been killed, but something told him that that wasn't it. Maybe it was Merlin's magic reacting to Morgana, or it was simply some prophetic sense; regardless, Merlin knew that he needed to speak to Arthur immediately.

As he made his way to Arthurs chambers, the all too familiar warning bells started ringing, making his blood turn to ice. One thought ran through his mind: _Arthur_. Heart pounding frantically in his chest, Merlin ran through the castle. The rational part of his mind tried to tell him that if Arthur were in danger his ring would tell him, but the overwhelming terror of losing his best friend pushed any rational thought out of his mind.

Merlin ran around the corner, only to nearly run into an equally frantic Arthur. He immediately started searching for any signs of injury on his friend's body, terror gripping his heart.

When Merlin didn't immediately see anything wrong, he asked, "What's happened?"

"I don't know," Arthur admitted. "I was coming to make sure you were alright."

"Where's Leon?" Merlin asked.

"He's guarding Agravaine's cell…" Arthur began, stopping when realization hit him. The same realization dawning on Merlin. How could they have been so stupid?

The pair immediately made their way down to the dungeons, knowing they'd find a disaster waiting for them. Once they arrived, they found Percival slowly pulling himself off of the floor, groaning.

"Percival, what happened? Where's Leon?" Arthur asked frantically.

"Morgana came and freed Agravaine," Percival informed him. "She just blasted right through us… I think Leon went after them…"

Arthur looked over at Merlin, fear in his eyes. Leon was an old friend of Arthur's; they had grown up together and Leon was by far the most loyal of the knights to Arthur.

"We'll find him, Arthur," Merlin assured, only for Leon to walk in.

"I'm sorry sire, but they escaped," Leon said, looked very upset.

"What happened?"

"I chased them down but before I could do anything, they vanished."

"You're lucky Morgana wasn't trying to kill you," Arthur whispered, genuine concern on his face.

"I couldn't let them get away," Leon argued.

"I know," Arthur assured. "Just please try and have backup next time you go after some renegade sorcerer."

"Of course, Sire," Leon assured, smiling.

Arthur and Merlin both visibly flinched, reaching for their rings, which were both burning painfully.

"Something wrong?" Leon asked.

"My ring is burning," Merlin admitted.

"Mine too," Arthur agreed.

"Morgana must really hate us," Merlin commented.

"It would seem so…" Leon muttered an interested look on his face.

"Let me guess," Gwaine sighed. "Agravaine escaped?" Gwaine walked into the dungeons, followed by a dejected Lancelot and Elyan.

"Morgana broke in and helped him," Arthur sighed.

"How does she keep sneaking into Camelot?" Gwaine demanded angrily.

"It's possible she has more allies on the inside," Leon suggested.

"What should we do?" Lancelot asked.

Arthur looked helplessly between his men. "I don't know…" he admitted.

"We need to prepare for the next attack!" Leon exclaimed.

"How?" Gwaine asked.

"We know that there are probably more of Morgana's allies in Camelot. If we find them we can try and figure out what Morgana has planned and be ready to stop it."

Arthur reluctantly agreed. "Alright, we need to put guards at all the entrances to Camelot and some more men hiding in the woods to follow anyone who gets out."

"I'll inform the guards," Leon assured, quickly leaving the dungeons.

"What's up with him?" Gwaine asked, eyebrows raised.

"He's probably just trying to make up for letting Agravaine and Morgana get away," Arthur sighed.

"Hopefully he doesn't beat himself up too much for it," Elyan commented.

"Leon's not one to brood," Arthur said.

"Morgana's playing with us," Percival said, standing up. "She wants to see us squirm."

"We won't let her," Arthur said confidently.

* * *

The next morning, Merlin was started awake by Evan as he threw the curtains open.

"Good morning, Merlin!" He said brightly.

Merlin shook his head. "Good morning, Evan," he mumbled sleepily. Merlin had spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep until dawn, fear clawing at him, making him wonder if Morgana was planning to attack soon.

"I heard that Agravaine escaped," Evan said. "The whole city is buzzing about it. Everyone's afraid."

"We all are," Merlin agreed.

"Doesn't Arthur have a plan?" Evan asked.

"That's what I'm going to talk to him about," Merlin admitted, grabbing an apple and heading out the door. As he made his way through the halls, he couldn't help but wonder if Camelot was getting ready for a siege. Knights ran through the halls carrying weapons and other supplies, expressions of grim determination on their faces.

Merlin pushed the door open and entered Arthur's chambers. Arthur appeared to have slept about as well as he had.

"Couldn't sleep?" Merlin asked.

"No. You?"

"Not a wink," Merlin replied, noticing the knights were in the room as well. "What's the plan?"

"Some of Olaf's men have been spotted at Camelot's boarder," Leon informed him.

"I'm going to take some men to go and investigate it," Arthur announced. "We need to see if they're planning something or if they're working for Morgana, and to stop them if they are."

Nodding his head Merlin asked, "When do we leave?"

"Not we," Arthur informed him. "I'll only be taking a few knights, you are going to stay here and-"

"What?" Merlin exclaimed.

"Told you he'd take it well," Gwaine added.

"You cannot expect me to stay in Camelot as you ride off to possibly face Morgana's men!"

"We don't know if they really are-" Arthur argued, but Merlin wouldn't hear it.

"You said yourself there was a possibility that they were!" he argued, refusing to back down.

"But we know that she's planning to attack Camelot," Arthur disagreed.

When Merlin opened his mouth to protest, Arthur said, "Just please let me explain." Merlin glared at him before stiffly nodding his head, prompting Arthur to continue. "We know that Morgana is planning another attack, and if we both go then Camelot will be helpless. I need to know that someone who has a chance of fighting her will be here to protect the people."

"Arthur, I understand where you're coming from, but I know nothing about how to run a kingdom!"

"That's why I will be staying with you," Leon said. "I served Uther for many years. I know much about the court and can help you while Arthur is gone."

"Let me guess, you'll be the knights going with Arthur?" Merlin asked, gesturing to the others.

"We are Arthur's most trusted men," Gwaine replied, puffing out his chest.

Rolling his eyes Elyan added, "We've faced Morgana before, and apparently we're Arthur's best swordsmen."

"If any of the men feel that you can't take care of the problem you'll ride back to Camelot and get me?" Merlin affirmed.

"We'll drag him back if need be," Lancelot assured.

Sighing, Merlin reluctantly agreed. "Alright… I'll go with this crazy plan… but I don't like it."

* * *

A lone figure stood in the middle of the forest, patiently waiting for her informant to tell her what was happening within the walls of Camelot. She smiled as a young man approached.

"What does my brother plan to do?"

"He is doing just as you predicted, my Lady," the man said. "He rides for the border tomorrow at dawn. He's leaving Merlin behind to keep an eye on Camelot."

"Perfect," Morgana whispered, grinning. "And what of our ally? Does anyone suspect t him?"

"No," the man replied. "They don't suspect a thing. They trust him completely."

"It won't be long until Camelot falls," Morgana whispered, a grin spreading across her face.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N **

** I realize I seem to have neglected Gaius so I****'****m bringing him back in this chapter! YAY!**

* * *

Merlin watched through his window as Arthur rode off with his men, fear for his friend filling him. He knew that Arthur was a great swordsman, one of the best in Camelot, but Merlin's ring hadn't stopped burning since the night before, and he couldn't help but fear they were all walking straight into a trap.

Someone knocked on the door and Merlin called, "Come in!" He turned to see who it was, and grinned when Gaius appeared around the door.

"Gaius," Merlin greeted, feeling bad that he hadn't visited the old physician sooner. When Merlin thought about it, he hadn't talked to Gaius properly in a long time.

Gaius hugged Merlin tightly. "You've had a rough few days, my boy."

"I'm sorry I haven't visited you much lately…" Merlin replied guiltily.

"It's alright," Gaius assured. "I know you're probably busy… especially in light of Morgana's attacks."

Merlin's face fell at the mention of Morgana. "Yeah…"

Gaius pulled away from his ward. "Merlin… what's wrong?" he asked. "Arthur's told me everything. Why do you doubt yourself so much?"

"I keep failing, Gaius," Merlin exclaimed.

"What happened to the man who never let that stop him? You once believed in your destiny… in yourself."

"A stupid bracelet stopped me Gaius." Merlin whispered. "I was completely helpless. If it wasn't for Arthur I would be dead! The druids keep saying that I'm this all powerful sorcerer who is supposed to unite all of Albion, but how can I do that if I keep failing like this?" Merlin sat down heavily on the bed, refusing to look at the man who he considered to be like a father to him.

"You're still upset about that?" Gaius asked, sitting down next to Merlin.

"If I'm so powerful than how did some stupid bracelet stopped my magic? How does Morgana keep slipping into Camelot unnoticed? How has Morgana learned to control her magic so well if she's only had if for a couple years? I've used it my whole life and I can't do some of the things she can!"

"Merlin, I looked at the bracelet myself, any sorcerer with it on would be rendered powerless, no matter how strong their magic," Gaius gently assured.

"What if I can't protect the people I care about?" Merlin asked.

"Merlin, you shouldn't sell yourself short," Gaius gently told him.

"I don't know what I should be doing anymore," Merlin admitted. "It's like Morgana is always two steps ahead of me."

"Merlin, we will get through this, I know it," Gaius assured.

"How?" Merlin asked feeling, the ring's continued burn.

"I believe in your destiny," Gaius whispered.

* * *

After a long day of riding, Arthur finally signaled to stop for the night. Relieved, the knights dismounted and started setting up camp, and in less than a half hour they a passable campsite. Trying to make themselves dinner, though, proved to be a serious problem when they realized that none of them could cook. Eventually, the knights were able to make some strange soup that tasted terrible.

"How does Merlin make everything taste so good?" Elyan asked, staring at the soup in disgust.

"Oh, I wish Merlin was here," Gwaine lamented. "We'd be eating delicious food around a warm campfire…"

"Someone needed to stay in Camelot," Lancelot sighed.

"I still miss his cooking," Gwaine grumbled.

Lancelot rolled his eyes and looked over at Arthur, who had removed his gloves and was anxiously twirling his ring.

"Arthur? Are you alright?" Lancelot asked.

Sighing, Arthur looked up at his knights, who were now all watching him worriedly.

"It hasn't stopped burning since Agravaine escaped," Arthur informed them. "I'm just worried about him."

"Leon will make sure nothing happens to him," Percival assured. "Merlin will be fine."

"I know," Arthur agreed. "I still can't help but worry, though."

"Look, Princess," Gwaine began causing, Arthur to roll his eyes, "worrying about him won't get us back to Camelot faster. We need to focus on finding Olaf's men and figuring out what they're up to."

"I know, Gwaine," Arthur sighed. "I just feel like… something's wrong."

"Arthur, you said yourself we need to trust each other because that's all we have," Elyan reminded him. "I believe that we can stop Morgana."

"We've handled her before," Gwaine added.

"I know," Arthur agreed. "It doesn't make me any less afraid."

None of the knights could say anything to that.

* * *

The next morning, Merlin woke up feeling even more exhausted than he had the night before. His ring had burned all night, and he was tormented by nightmares of himself burning as Morgana watched, laughing at his pain.

Extremely nervous, Merlin went down to the council chambers. The council wanted to meet with Merlin to discuss the plan of action if Morgana were to attack again.

When Merlin walked into the council chambers, he noticed all of the council members except Gaius tense. He looked over at the knights, noticing that they didn't seem as uncomfortable around him as the council. Merlin sat down and Leon stood right behind him, the knight's presence immediately comforting Merlin. He could do this, he'd done it before. He'd be fine.

"Morgana has already attacked Camelot twice," Merlin stiffly told the council. "We need to find a way to protect Camelot against further attacks."

"That's easy," one if the council members exclaimed. "Purge the city of any and all magic users." He glared at Merlin as he said this, the rest of the council started muttering their agreements. When Arthur had lifted the ban and Merlin revealed his magic, people had immediately started distrusting Merlin even more, but Arthur assured him that it would soon fade once they realized he was loyal to Camelot. Apparently Arthur was wrong.

"Merlin is not only the heir to the throne, but loyal to Arthur and to Camelot," Leon said angrily. "He would never do anything to threaten either. It would spell Camelot's doom to try and throw him out."

Merlin looked back at Leon and flashed a grateful smile. Leon merely nodded.

"Besides, Arthur himself lifted the ban on magic. We will not banish people who have just as much right to live in Camelot as any other person," Merlin added.

"What we must do is find the traitor and stop them," Gaius informed them. "Unless they are stopped, there is nothing to stop them from striking again."

"Gaius is right," Geoffrey added. "Whoever the traitor is, he more than likely has a great knowledge of the citadel and Camelot itself."

"We need to be prepared for every possible attack," Merlin declared.

"Arthur and I have already discussed some plans," Leon informed them. "If I may?"

"Of course," Merlin assured, waving him on.

"Wonderful," Leon said, pulling out some diagrams.

Merlin's ring flared and he winced slightly, his hand flying to his ring, surprised at how hot the ring became. Merlin thought that the ring would cool off some like it had a few nights ago, but it continued to burn painfully. In fact, it seemed as if the ring was getting hotter. Throughout the meeting, Merlin tried to focus on what Leon was saying, but the searing pain the ring brought was making it hard for him to focus, his mind constantly drifting back to Arthur and the knights. _Please let them be safe._

* * *

The woods were far too quiet for Arthur's liking. He was sure that something bad was going to happen, so he kept his eyes and ears alert, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, his ring burned more painfully than ever, making Arthur hiss and rip off his glove and clutch his hand. Unlike the last time it had become hot, it continued to burn him painfully, making his fears for Merlin rise to the surface again.

"Is something wrong, Princess?" Gwaine asked teasingly when he noticed Arthur had stopped.

"Merlin said that the greater the danger, the hotter the ring will burn," Arthur informed them, ignoring Gwaine's question. "I don't think it's ever burned this hot before."

"Do you think something's wrong?" Elyan asked, fear written across his features.

"Maybe we should head back to Camelot…" Arthur began. "I think something bad must be happening."

"Princess, in case you've forgotten," Gwaine began, "we're on a mission."

"And Merlin could be in trouble!" Arthur argued.

"We're all concerned for Merlin's safety," Lancelot said, "but abandoning the mission will only put more people in danger. We know that Merlin can take care of himself. We have to press on."

Deep down, Arthur knew Lancelot was right, but something in his gut was screaming that something was very wrong; that they needed to leave _now_. Sighing, Arthur pulled the glove back over his hand and tried to ignore the pain and the voices screaming at him to go back.

"Alright, let's move on." Just as he said this, a swarm of bandits burst from the trees and chaos erupted in the forest.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**

**Fair warning to me readers this is a depressing chapter (well my beta said it was sad) just thought I should warn you sense some of my readers have asked for warnings about this. Enjoy.**

* * *

A part of Merlin wanted to leave Camelot and go find Arthur and the knights to make sure they were okay. All night long the ring had burned painfully, keeping the young warlock awake, worrying for his friends. Everything about the situation felt so wrong, it was as if he was missing something vital, something just within his reach but he couldn't figure out what.

Merlin looked down at his ring again, wondering how the ring hadn't burned his finger off with how hot it burned. He wanted to rip it off of his finger, but refrained. He didn't want to risk not feeling it if it suddenly turned cold.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Leon strode in, carrying Merlin's breakfast.

"Where's Evan?" Merlin asked, surprised that his servant didn't bring the food up.

"I thought it best if I got it instead," Leon explained. "We have no idea who the traitor might be and I thought better be safe than sorry."

"You didn't have to do that, Leon," Merlin assured. "I can use magic to see if there's any poison."

"I just feel better brining it myself," Leon admitted. "Besides, Arthur will have my head if he found out I let you take any unnecessary risks."

"That's true," Merlin agreed. "Thank you, Leon."

Leon smiled as Merlin took a drink from his cup, freezing when he felt his magic react to it. Merlin set the cup down and muttered a spell, thinking it was some kind of poison.

"Is something wrong?" Leon asked when he saw Merlin's eyes flash gold.

"I thought… something felt wrong," Merlin reluctantly admitted. "It was nothing though… I am a bit jumpy…" Merlin trailed off and continued to eat his meal slowly, wondering what it was he'd felt.

Leon watched Merlin carefully as he ate, worry written plainly across his features.

* * *

As the day continued, Merlin's ring burned relentlessly and Merlin vowed that if the ring didn't stop burning by the end of the day he would go out himself and look for the King.

Merlin reluctantly took over Arthur's duties; with a lot of help from Leon and Gaius, something that he was extremely grateful for. He knew he wouldn't have lasted a day without them.

At lunch, Leon once again brought Merlin his food, and Merlin reluctantly started eating; relieved when his magic didn't sense anything strange. He decided that the strange feeling at breakfast was just nerves getting to him and pushed the incident out of his mind.

Merlin's promise to wait until that night to leave crumbled when the ring flared even hotter during a council meeting. Terrified for his friend, Merlin ended the meeting early and raced to find Evan. Evan jumped when the door to Merlin's chambers flew open and Merlin ran in shouting.

"Evan, I need you to get my horse ready. Something's wrong."

Evan, knowing better than to try and say something, bowed and hastily ran off. Terror fueling him, Merlin frantically packed some essentials and was about to head down to the kitchen when Leon entered.

"Merlin, where are you going?" he asked.

"Something's wrong," Merlin quickly told him. "I'm going to find Arthur. You can come if you wish."

"Merlin, you cannot just leave Camelot!" Leon exclaimed. "Someone needs to make sure Morgana doesn't attack!"

"Then you stay!" Merlin snapped, growing more frustrated by the minute, "I need to make sure Arthur is alright…" Merlin stopped mid-sentence when he felt the ring grow cooler suddenly until it felt normal. For a minute, he let relief flood him, _Arthur was ok!_ Only to have that relief fade into horror when the ring turned icy.

"No…" Merlin muttered in disbelief, "no, no, no!" But the ring remained cold.

The doors to Merlin's chambers where flung open and Evan burst in.

"My lord! The knights have returned!" he said hurriedly.

Refusing to believe what logic was trying to tell him, Merlin ran down to the stables, praying that this was just some silly misunderstanding. That Arthur lost his ring or something. Anything. Arthur couldn't be dead, he just couldn't.

Merlin ran outside and into the stables, startling the knights. He scanned the group, praying to spot Arthur among them, his heart sinking when he didn't. Seeing Merlin's face, Gwaine lowered his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Merlin… We were attacked by Cenred's men and lost Arthur in the confusion. We came straight back to Camelot to get some more men to… Merlin?" Merlin wasn't listening to Gwaine anymore, the knight's words confirming what he had already known.

"No…" Merlin muttered, his body slumping against the wall.

"Merlin? What's wrong?" Gwaine asked, running over to him. His hand rested on top of Merlin's, then immediately drew back when he felt cold. He looked down at the ring and realization dawned on him. Gwaine wanted to say something, anything, but all words died in his throat when he saw Merlin's face.

Merlin slowly backed away from him, before turning and fleeing the stables, unable to look at any of the knights. He'd failed, Arthur was gone. How could he face them? How could he live? Merlin ran through the castle, vision blurred, only able to think about his failure. Arthur, his best friend, was gone forever.

* * *

Gwaine started at the spot where Merlin had been standing moments before, mind unable to process what was happening. Arthur was dead, probably because they'd gone back to Camelot rather than try and look for him themselves.

"Gwaine? Gwaine what's wrong?" Lancelot asked worriedly.

Gwaine slowly turned to face them just as Leon ran in.

"I passed Merlin a minute ago, what happened? Where's Arthur?" Leon asked.

"Arthur's dead…" Gwaine breathed, mind still unable to process the news.

"We don't know that Gwaine…" Elyan argued, but Gwaine shook his head.

"Merlin's ring… it felt like ice…" The knights froze when Gwaine said this, understanding dawning on all of them. They all stood in the stables, sorrow for their king filling them. Elyan was the first to snap himself out of his daze, remembering Gwen.

"I… I need… Gwen should know…" Elyan whispered, his voice cracking slightly.

Lancelot could hardly believe his ears. He felt like ice was slowly creeping into his heart, choking it, ripping the life out of him. He didn't even want to think about what Merlin must be feeling…

Merlin. Lancelot left the stables saying, "I need to find Merlin."

Gwaine looked over at Leon, who had his back turned to him. Gwaine instantly felt for the older man. He'd been Arthur's friend for years, even longer than Merlin had known him; Gwaine couldn't imagine how hard this must be for the knight.

"Leon? Are you-?" Gwaine began, but Leon cut him off,

"Please I just… I need time…" Gwaine nodded his head sympathetically and placed a comforting hand on Leon's shoulder.

"We'll get through this, Leon, together."

When Leon still refused to look at Gwaine, he gave Leon's shoulder a squeeze, silently telling him it was ok to cry; he wouldn't judge. Leon shrugged of Gwaine's hand and quietly left the stables. Gwaine didn't stop him, they all needed to mourn in their own ways. His first instinct was to drown himself in alcohol, to just forget, but he also knew that getting drunk would not solve anything.

"Want to go to the tavern?" Percival asked, looking close to breaking down. Sighing, Gwaine agreed.

_Why was everything falling apart?_

* * *

It was surprisingly easy for Lancelot to find Merlin, but when he did he almost wished he hadn't found him so easily. Lancelot had found Merlin in the east wing, hiding in an alcove, sobbing uncontrollably. Lancelot's heart clenched at the sight, and he thought back to all the times Merlin spoke of his and Arthur's future, how their lives were bound together by destiny. Two sides of the same coin. But now Merlin had nothing, and he needed Lancelot to be strong. So he would be.

Lancelot kneeled down next to Merlin and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, making Merlin jump.

Lancelot locked eyes with Merlin and said, "Merlin, I'm so sorry."

"I shouldn't have let him go," Merlin whispered hoarsely. "I should have known Morgana would do something I… I…" Lancelot watched as Merlin fell apart before his eyes, not sure what to say to comfort him.

"Merlin, this is not your fault," Lancelot assured. "There is nothing we could have done…"

"No," Merlin said, standing up. "You're wrong." He walked away from the knight, away from any comfort he brought. He deserved to suffer, he didn't deserve comfort. Bedside's, what could anyone say to comfort him, he had nothing left to live for. He had nothing left, and he deserved this. Every second of agony, every throbbing beat of his heart, he deserved. Arthur was dead, and it was all his fault.

* * *

**End Notes**

***Dives behind shield* Before you kill me I have two things to say 1.) Did I say this was a death fic? and 2.) If you kill me you won't find out how it ends! Other than the sad ending how was the chapter? **


	8. Chapter 8

Gwaine wasn't surprised with how quickly the news of the king's death spread through the city. Less than an hour after Gwaine and Percival had arrived at the tavern it had filled with mourning knights and citizens alike.

Several people walked up to Gwaine asking, "Is it true? Is the king dead?" Gwaine hated seeing the look on their faces when he confirmed the rumors, but it had to be done. The people deserved to know. Soon, Elyan and Lancelot joined them.

"How is she?" Gwaine asked.

"She won't talk to me," Elyan admitted. "She's locked herself in her chambers."

"How's Merlin?" Gwaine asked, looking over at a dejected Lancelot.

"He's blaming himself," Lancelot informed them.

"Where's Leon?" Elyan asked, noticing the oldest knight wasn't among them.

"He wanted to be alone," Gwaine informed them. None of the knights held it against him; he had been close to Arthur and they knew he did not like to show when he got upset.

Lancelot stood up suddenly. "Is that Merlin?" Gwaine looked out the window and spotted a figure slipping through the town. Confused and slightly concerned, the knights all stood and left the pub to follow Merlin. Merlin dove behind some barrels when he neared the gates and used magic knock over some barrels prompting the guards to run over and investigate allowing Merlin and the knights to slip past unnoticed. Merlin headed to the forest and followed an all too familiar path and stopped in a large clearing. The knights hid behind a bush as Merlin started shouting in a strange language, a gold dragon landing in the clearing a few minutes later. Lancelot could see the knights tense and reach out for their swords but Lancelot held out his hand.

"He's a friend; he told me where to find the healer that saved Merlin's life." Gwaine looked over at Lancelot and nodded stiffly before turning his attention to Merlin.

"I've failed, Kilgharrah… Arthur is dead and it's all my fault!"

"Do not give up young warlock," the dragon, Kilgharrah apparently, said.

"How can I? I failed, you said yourself there can be no Albion without Arthur. He's gone… I failed him, I failed our destiny… I have nothing to live for anymore!" Tears streamed down Merlin's face as he said this. "What am I supposed to do without Arthur?"

"Do not give up hope…" Kilgharrah gently repeated.

"Why?" Merlin demanded angrily. "There's no point! I have no purpose anymore! I'm nothing but a failure! Soon Morgana will take Camelot! All is lost…"

"Everything is not always what it seems. You must have faith in destiny," Kilgharrah said before spreading his wings and taking off.

"What do you mean?" Merlin shouted helplessly, "I have no destiny anymore! I have _nothing!_" When the dragon didn't respond, Merlin angrily shouted, "You great big useless dragon! You don't know anything!" He chocked on a sob and sank to his knees, wrapping his arms around himself sobbing. "Stupid dragon…" His body trembled and let all his emotions out. Screaming, Merlin slammed his fist into the ground and, expecting some sort of magic release, the knights tried to cover themselves. They frowned when nothing happened. Staring at his hands, Merlin started shaking before shouting something in the old religion causing a medium sized boulder to get thrown into a tree.

Judging from the look on Merlin's face, Lancelot guessed the spell was supposed to do more than that.

"What's going on?" Gwaine asked worriedly.

"I think his magic must be affected," Lancelot whispered as Merlin completely broke down and crumpled to the ground. Unable to watch his friend suffer anymore, Lancelot stood and walked over to his friend.

"Merlin?" Lancelot asked gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Merlin slowly looked up, desperately trying to get some air, choking on another sob when he saw the knight.

"I was supposed to protect him…" Merlin whispered pitifully. "It was my destiny… what am I supposed to do?" Lancelot didn't know what to say to comfort his distraught friend, so instead he helped Merlin sit up and pulled him into a warm embrace.

"The people need someone to lead them," Lancelot gently told Merlin.

"I can't be king," Merlin argued. "I was never meant to lead. The people will not follow me."

"We will stand by you," Lancelot assured.

"Besides," Gwaine drawled, "I bet the people will agree, you are a thousand times better than Morgana." Merlin looked up at Gwaine, not even a weak smile gracing his lips. Gwaine sighed and kneeled down next to his friend. "Merlin, it's ok. No one blames you for what happened."

"What about Gwen?" Merlin asked, choking on his words. "They were supposed to get married…"

"She doesn't blame you either," Elyan assured.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," Merlin admitted.

"We'll help you," Lancelot assured.

Merlin looked around at the knights, his friends. They'd stood by his side through it all, when he revealed his magic, when he had been held prisoner, when all of Camelot had turned on him, they had stayed loyal.

"Thank you," Merlin whispered, turning to look at all the knights. "Thank you for everything."

"Friends stick together," Elyan said, grinning down at him.

"We're one big, crazy, dysfunctional family," Percival added.

"A family that just got smaller," Merlin whispered mournfully, the pain of Arthur's death hitting him again. Everything about it felt so wrong.

"Come on," Lancelot whispered, standing up and pulling Merlin up with him. "Let's get back to the castle."

The next day, at the coronation, every fiber of Merlin's being screamed at him when the crown was placed on his head. It was so _wrong _it made him sick. He pushed those emotions down, though, and tried to act like everything was alright, but inside he was falling apart. He wanted to flee when everyone started chanting, "Long live the King!"

The knights of the round table shouting the loudest. Wrong, it was so wrong. Arthur was the King! Not him! After the ceremony, Merlin fled to his chambers, claiming he was exhausted and wanted to get some sleep. He could tell that the knights didn't believe him but kindly they didn't say anything.

Once Merlin was alone he completely broke down. He collapsed on the bed and curled up in a tight ball, sobbing. Nothing the knights said would ever be able to dull the pain that Arthur's death brought.

He would never get to call Arthur a prat, would never hear him laugh and call him an idiot or something stupid. Arthur would never ruffle Merlin's hair affectionately like an older brother would; he would never tease him or goof off with him. Arthur would never marry Gwen and have a family with her. They would never unite Albion; Arthur would never be the King of Legend. Whatever the stupid dragon said was wrong, Merlin had failed his destiny, his best friend. Merlin's whole body shook with sobs as he thought about Arthur and everything he'd never be able to do. It felt like his heart was slowly being torn to shreds, but he deserved every second of the pain.

Merlin's whole body stiffened when he felt a hand touch his shoulder and start rubbing soothing circles.

"It's ok, you can be upset. You don't have to be the strong king for anyone right now," Evan gently whispered.

"I was never supposed to be King!" Merlin exclaimed, sitting up, not even bothering to wipe his tears.

"I felt the same way when my father died," Evan admitted, making Merlin pause. Merlin had known that Evan had come only with his mother and little brother, but he didn't know what had happened to Evan's father.

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked uncertainly.

"A few years ago, bandits attacked our village," Evan explained reluctantly.

"You don't have to-" Merlin began but Evan cut him off.

"It's ok. My father was trying to protect the village and was badly injured. As he lay there dying he told me that I needed to be the man of the house. He said I needed to take care of my mother and little brother. I didn't want to, though; I wanted my father to be there. I didn't think I could be strong enough. But someone had to do it, and I was not going to force Ian to be the man, so I did it. I didn't want to do it, though. Some days I wanted to just give up, but I pushed through. It's still hard sometimes, but I do it for my family."

Merlin felt his heart clench at Evan's words, but the guilt refused to leave.

"That was different," Merlin argued. "You didn't kill your father."

"You didn't kill Arthur," Evan countered.

"I as good as killed him," Merlin whispered bitterly.

Evan opened his mouth to say something when someone loudly knocked on the door. Evan spared one last glance at Merlin before opening the door, revealing Leon carrying a tray with food.

"I brought you some lunch," Leon gently told Merlin. Leon glared at Evan and snapped, "Don't you have chores to be attending to?" Evan bowed slightly before leaving the room, not once glancing back at Merlin.

"Leon, Evan hasn't done anything," Merlin scolded as Leon set down the tray.

Leon looked guilty and apologized, "I'm sorry… I just… I'm just… tense. There is no sign of the traitor and I don't want what happened to Arthur to happen to you."

Merlin sighed and assured the knight, "Leon, I understand you're upset and I'm sorry I know I'm to blame…"

"No," Leon cut in, "no one is to blame but Morgana."

Merlin eyed Leon before saying, "Evan is a good man. I know things are difficult but we need to trust each other."

Leon sighed and replied, "I know… I just… if I ever find who did this…" Leon didn't need to finish the sentence.

Merlin glanced at the food before turning away and slowly sitting down at the desk, mentally preparing himself to fully take over Arthur's duties.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Leon asked worriedly.

"I'm not hungry…" Merlin mumbled.

Leon sighed. "Alright, I'll leave it here in case you get hungry." He left.

_That__'__s unlikely_.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**

**Anyone**** else angry at how Merlin was ended? Don't get me wrong, The scenes with Merlin and Arthur where great but... how they did the ending was terrible. Please feel free to PM me with your thoughts, I need to rant. Anyways here's the next chapter!**

The next morning, Evan was slightly concerned when he found Merlin sitting at the desk, bed not slept in and the food from the day before uneaten. Merlin's eyes were red and slightly swollen, further worrying Evan.

"Merlin, did you get any sleep last night?" Evan asked gently.

"I'm fine," Merlin mumbled halfheartedly.

"Merlin, this isn't healthy," Evan scolded. "At least eat something," he pleaded when Merlin didn't answer.

"I'm not hungry," Merlin muttered.

"Merlin, Arthur wouldn't want you to starve yourse-" Evan began when Merlin stood and snarled,

"_How would you know what he would want?_ He's _dead_ and it's _my fault!_" Merlin blinked rapidly to try and stop the tears from falling. "It's all my fault…" Merlin looked away, unable to look at the servant, shame written plainly across his features. Evan walked over to Merlin and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You can't blame yourself," Evan gently assured. "You can't torment yourself over this either. I know I'm not the only one who doesn't want to lose you too." Merlin looked up at Evan, pain and guilt laced through his features. "You need to take care of yourself."

"The thought of food makes me feel ill," Merlin admitted. The fact that he was alive and able to eat and drink and enjoy life while Arthur couldn't made Merlin feel sick. It was wrong for him to be able to live while Arthur couldn't. Evan was about to say something when there was a knock at the door and Leon once again came in with a tray of food.

"You didn't eat yesterday?" he asked, noticing that Merlin hadn't touched his food.

"I'm not hungry," Merlin mumbled.

"You must eat something," Leon pleaded.

"I just need some time," Merlin said, a pleading look in his eyes.

Sighing, Leon set the tray down. "I'm worried about you, Merlin. Please at least try."

Merlin glanced down at the food Leon had brought and looked back up at the knight. He reluctantly picked up the spoon and took a bite of the oatmeal, gaging when he felt his magic violently react to it.

"Merlin! Are you alright?" Leon asked looking concerned.

"Something's wrong…" Merlin whispered. His magic burned painfully inside him, making him feel dizzy. Leon grabbed Merlin's arms and gently led him to the bed and helped him sit down.

"Evan, go fetch Gaius."

"I'm fine," Merlin weakly protested, but Evan ignored Merlin and left quickly.

Merlin muttered a spell causing a weak orb of light to form in his hand. The orb flickered out just as Gaius burst in.

"Merlin! What happened?"

"My magic…" Merlin mumbled. "I-I don't… something's not right."

"What do you mean?" Gaius asked, placing a hand on Merlin's forehead.

"When I ate my magic reacted, I felt like it was burning, and then I tried to use magic but it felt weak… it has been feeling weak for a while."

"How long?" Gaius asked worriedly.

"Since Arthur died," Merlin whispered, fighting back tears.

Gaius's worried expression turned sympathetic. "Merlin your magic is strongly affected by your emotions," he explained gently. "It's not surprising that it is weaker at the moment."

"But-" Merlin protested, but Gaius stopped him.

"Merlin, what you need is a nice meal and some sleep. Proper sleep. I'll bring you a sleeping draught and you will get some rest."

"But…" Merlin began thinking about all of the things he needed to take care of.

"Leon and I will take care of everything," Gaius assured, slipping out of the room. "I'll be back with that sleeping draught." Gaius's smile faded when he shut the door and turned to Leon saying, "I didn't want to worry Merlin but I think someone tried to poison him."

"What?" Leon demanded, worry evident in his voice.

"From what Merlin described, it's as if his magic is being poisoned," Gaius explained.

"I will personally see to it that the patrol is doubled," Leon replied, a determined look in his eyes.

"I will make sure nothing else gets into Merlin's food," Gaius informed Leon, who stiffly nodded his head. Gaius turned and left to get the potion for Merlin, fear for his ward filling him.

五

King Harding stared in disbelief at the messenger, mind unable to comprehend the news. The servant had come to tell him that Arthur was dead and Merlin was now king. Harding couldn't understand how this happened; he didn't even want to think about how this must be destroying Merlin.

"There is more," the messenger continued.

"What else could have possibly happened?" Harding sighed, not sure how much more bad news he could take.

"While riding back, the knights found several of Cenred's knights bodies in the forest…"

"So?" Harding sighed, uninterested in what Cenred was up to.

"The servant, Ian I believe, noticed one of the knights was wearing this." The messenger reached into his bag and pulled out a ring with a dragon etched onto the surface. Harding stood and snatched the ring out of the messenger's hand. "The servant claimed this would mean something to you."

"Yes, why on earth would one of Cenreds knights have a ring with the Pendragon crest on it?" Harding asked. "Tell the guards to double the patrol near the border. Something is going on, and I want to know what."

六

_A shadowed man sat slumped in the corner, hands chained about his head._

_"__Comfortable?__"__ Morgana asked, her tone mocking._

_ The man laughed humourlessly. __"__You were always like a sister to me, Morgana.__"__ The man looked up to reveal Arthur's pale face, making Merlin gasp, but neither paid attention to him. Arthur was dead! How was he talking to Morgana?_

_"__No, we were never family. You made sure of that, _brother"_ Morgana snarled, raising her hand and shouting a curse, making Arthur scream in pain. Morgana lowered her hand after a minute and let Arthur catch his breath. _

_"__Leave__…__ Merlin__…__ alone__…"__ Arthur gasped through pained breathed._

_ Morgana smirked and replied, __"__Now why would I do that?__"_

_"__Please__…__ you spared me__…__ you can take the throne. Just let Merlin _live_, kill _me_ if you have to!__"_

_Morgana__'__s grin widened. __"__Don__'__t worry, I plan on killing you. After you watch Merlin suffer!__"__ She then barked another curse and Arthur writhed in pain, screaming as Morgana laughed._

"_NO!_" Merlin shouted. He sat up in bed, gasping and choking on a sob. His body trembled as he attempted to control his weak sobbing. Merlin jumped when the door burst open and Lancelot ran in.

"Merlin, are you alright?" he shouted.

Merlin tried to answer but his body wasn't cooperating.

Lancelot's expression softened as he asked, "Nightmare?"

Merlin swallowed and answered shakily. "It was terrible… Morgana… she had Arthur… she was torturing him…"

Lancelot's expression became pained. "Merlin, Arthur's gone…"

"I know!" Merlin snapped. "I know…" he repeated brokenly. "It was just so real…"

Lancelot sat down next to Merlin and wrapped his arms around his friend. "We all miss him…"

_Not like I do__…_ Merlin thought, his body trembling with weak sobs.

"I can't do this, Lancelot. I… I can't be King!" Merlin cried. "I wasn't meant to be a king. It was Arthur's destiny to rule and I failed!"

"You did everything you could," Lancelot gently assured.

"If I had done a better job Arthur wouldn't be dead!" Merlin snapped.

"Merlin, the only one who blames you is yourself," Lancelot gently told Merlin.

Merlin shook his head, fighting back tears, and Lancelot reached over and pulled the younger man into his arms. Merlin completely broke down, thinking _Arthur__…__ Please__…__ don__'__t be dead._

**End Notes**

**So was that a vision or a dream? Please let me know your thoughts on the chapter/ Merlin Finale**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**

**Sorry for the delay in updating guys, literally every appliance in my house that uses water has broken and flooded the house, damaging the flooring so badly that we now have to replace the downstairs flooring. It's not even funny. Hopefully things will calm down and I'll be able to write more. Enjoy!**

* * *

Merlin put his head in his hands, trying desperately to stay awake. He hadn't gotten any proper sleep in days and it was starting to wear on him. For the past couple of days Merlin had mostly stayed in his chambers, taking care of anything that didn't involve interacting with people.

Merlin stared blankly at the document Evan had brought him earlier, unsure what to do. He had no idea how to run a kingdom, no idea how to command and army, and no idea how to move on after his best friend's death. Merlin tensed when he thought about his late friend, but then slumped over when he thought about how Arthur handled Uther's death.

Arthur was stronger than Merlin, he didn't let Uther's death affect him, he pushed on. Arthur didn't let fear stop him from going forward, Arthur didn't break down and abandon his people after his father died; he stood up and led them. He didn't let fear rule him. Arthur was the king that the people deserved, not Merlin. Merlin didn't know how to rule, but he would do everything in his power to protect them, for Arthur.

* * *

Gwaine sighed as he listened to the council go in circles. Merlin hadn't done much since he was crowned, not that he could have done much even if he tried, leaving the council uncertain as to what to do. Gwaine didn't exactly blame Merlin; the people didn't trust him, and Arthur's death was still probably hard to deal with. Not to mention, Merlin knew nothing about ruling, but that left Camelot vulnerable. With no leader, no one knew what to do.

"I say we throw Merlin out and crown someone else!" One of the council members snarled.

Gwaine whipped out his sword and pressed it against the man's throat. "You speak treason."

Staring at the weapon pressed against his throat in fear, the man spluttered, "He has no idea how to rule! We need a king! Not some stupid boy!"

"I suggest you watch what you say in front of me," Gwaine snarled, pressing the sword harder against the man's jugular. As much as Gwaine hated to admit it, the man was right. Merlin wasn't a king. But, Merlin was also his friend, and he would not let anyone threaten him.

"What is going on in here?" A voice asked, startling everyone in the room. Gwaine looked towards the door, unable to stop the grin that spread across his face when he saw Merlin standing there, looking better than he had in days. "Is anyone going to explain? Or has the entire kingdom forgotten how to speak?"

Forcing himself to stop grinning like an idiot Gwaine explained, "This man speaks treason!"

"How so?" Merlin asked, looking surprised.

"He suggests we remove you from the throne and find someone else to rule," Gwaine explained, starting to feel like a tattle tale, but knowing Merlin needed to know this.

Merlin nodded his head. "I know I'm no king. I don't know much about the court or anything. But with Arthur gone and no other heir none of us have much of a choice here. You don't trust me, I understand, but right now each of you has to make a choice. And it can be a very difficult choice for some of you. You have to decide who you want to rule. Me, or Morgana. You and I both know that if I don't step up, the people will rebel, no one will be able to agree on someone who can rule, giving Morgana the perfect opportunity to strike and take over. Not many people in this room are very happy about this, myself included, but we don't have a choice. So whose side are you on?"

"I for one am with the rightful king," Gwaine declared, moving to stand next to Merlin.

"Me too," Lancelot agreed, seconds later. The other knights quickly following suit.

"I too stand with Merlin," Gaius declared, smiling at Merlin.

"He is not the rightful king!" the council member snarled.

"What is your name?" Merlin asked.

"Lord Daniel," the man, the man replied stiffly.

"Well listen _Lord Daniel_," Gwaine began spitting out Daniel's name like it was poison. "Arthur made Merlin the heir to the throne, so that makes him the rightful king now that Arthur is gone. So right now you're either with the King or against him. And if you're against him then you're with Morgana, and that's not somewhere you want to be while standing in the heart of Camelot."

Daniel looked between the knights, looking ready to faint. The other council members were quick to assure Merlin that they stood by Camelot, all the while Gwaine fought not to roll his eyes. Merlin looked slightly annoyed as well.

While Merlin's attention was focused on the council Gwaine studied him carefully. Though Merlin held himself confidently, the knight could see the sadness in the Warlock's eyes. Gwaine knew that Merlin was still upset about Arthur's death, but he could also see determination in his eyes. He knew that Merlin would do anything to ensure that Arthur did not die in vain.

"Lancelot, I need you to train the knights, you're one of Arthur's best swordsmen, show them what you can do," Merlin began, startling Gwaine out of his thoughts. Smiling, Lancelot nodded his head and hurried down to the training grounds. "Leon, I'm putting you in charge of the patrols, you send men out and tell me immediately if they see anything suspicious."

Leon nodded his head before saying, "Yes Sire. Gwaine, Percival, guard Merlin. Don't let him out of your sight."

When Merlin opened his mouth to argue, Leon cut him off. "No, Merlin, I am not taking that chance again."

Merlin nodded his head, causing Leon to smile, before running off to do as he was told.

"You look better," Evan commented.

"Thank you, Evan," Merlin whispered, smiling gratefully at the servant.

"For what?" Evan asked.

"For what you said. I needed to hear that. Someone needed to be the leader, and that someone has to be me."

"Arthur would be proud," Evan gently assured, causing Merlin's smile to falter slightly.

Merlin reached down at started spinning the ring on his finger, eyes turning glossy.

"I hope so," Merlin whispered.

七

Arthur's body trembled as he watched Merlin speak with Evan. Arthur knew that this was tearing him apart. He wanted to reach out and comfort Merlin, and started to only to be forced back by the chains that held his arms above his head. For days, Arthur had been forced to watch Merlin suffer through the crystal Morgana left in front of him.

She got some twisted joy watching Merlin struggle with Arthur's 'death', laughing hysterically when he cried when he thought he was alone. Under normal circumstances, Arthur would have made fun of Merlin and called him a girl, but these were nowhere near normal circumstances.

"Merlin I know you're trying your best," Arthur whispered to the crystal, knowing that Merlin couldn't hear him. "I'm so sorry you have to do this alone… I swear I will do everything I can to get back home to Camelot. I will stop this."

Maniacal laughter filed the cave. "Dear brother, you are never leaving this prison," Morgana taunted. "Not alive."

Arthur glared at her as she smirked at him.

"Why are you keeping me alive?" Arthur growled.

Morgana laughed again. "Because," she explained, still laughing, "I want you both to suffer! And what better way to do that than to let him die thinking you're dead, and for you to have to watch him die a slow and painful death?"

"What has Merlin done to you to deserve this?" Arthur demanded, fear filling him.

"He is the king now," Morgana explained, as if she was talking to a child, "and he won't give me the throne so I have to get rid of him. Now it's time for Camelot to fall."

* * *

**End Notes**

**If I had been planning on killing Arthur before, the season finale kept me from doing so. Anyways, so most of you where right, Arthur is alive! For now at least. Can he find a way to stop Morgana before its too late? You'll just have to wait and see.**


	11. Chapter 11

Merlin spent the next few days putting all of his energy into his duties as king, trying not to think about Arthur. He refused to think about anything other than his duties. Merlin knew that he should talk to Gwen, but he couldn't bring himself to look at her. He didn't want to see the anger in her eyes when he did. Merlin was perfectly happy to wait a while before talking to Gwen. Gwen, though, had different ideas.

While Merlin was sitting in his chambers, looking over some documents under the watchful gazes of Gwaine and Percival, someone tentatively knocked on the door.

Merlin looked up in surprise. "Come in!"

Gwen slowly pushed the door open and slipped inside, looking sheepish.

Merlin stood up, half shouting, "Gwen! What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you," Gwen gently explained.

"We all did," Lancelot amended, stepping inside.

"Is something wrong?" Merlin asked, his chest tightening.

"We know you're still beating yourself up about Arthur…" Gwaine weakly explained.

"Guys, I'm alright," Merlin gently assured. He did not want to have this conversation now, or ever.

"No one blames you, Merlin," Gwen gently told him.

"I know," Merlin countered.

"Then why are you ignoring me?" Gwen demanded, looking hurt.

Merlin had opened his mouth to reply when the castle started to shake. The hallways started ringing with screams and the sound of the warning bells.

Leon bust into the room shouting, "Sire, the city is under attack! Morgana is leading them!"

For a moment, Merlin stood there frozen, fear paralyzing him. With his magic acting up, did he stand a chance against Morgana? Merlin shook his head and forced himself not to think about that. He needed to be strong enough.

"Leon where are they?" Merlin asked trying to formulate a plan. He was nowhere near as good at strategy as Arthur, though.

"They've already taken the lower town," Leon explained.

"Lancelot, gather the knights. Get everyone to the citadel and keep Morgana from advancing any further. "

"What are you going to do?" Gwaine asked as Merlin pulled out the staff he stole from Sophia.

"I have to face Morgana," Merlin explained, trying to calm himself.

"Be careful," Gwaine said, before following the other knights out.

"You too," Merlin mumbled to the empty room. He steeled himself for the coming battle before made his way towards the throne room, knowing that's where Morgana would be heading. He determinedly weaved through the panicked throng of people running through the castle.

Merlin was unsurprised when he flung the doors to the throne room open and saw Morgana sitting in the throne like it was already hers.

"Hello, Merlin," Morgana greeted, a twisted smile on her face, immediately putting Merlin on guard. Something was wrong with this picture. It was as if she _knew _she could win.

"You shouldn't have come to Camelot," Merlin warned. "The knights would love to have your head."

"I'm not too worried about them," Morgana assured the malicious grin still on her face.

"You should be worried about me," Merlin warned before barking out a spell sending a bolt of lightning at Morgana, which she easily blocked before waving her hand sending Merlin flying.

"You should be the worried one," Morgana corrected, standing and walking over to Merlin. Merlin weakly sat up and sent a fireball at Morgana who easily deflected the spell once more before slamming Merlin into the wall. "How pathetic, a king who can't even protect himself."

Merlin stood and stumbled away from her just as the doors were flung open and Leon ran in.

"Leon get out of here!" Merlin shouted not taking his eyes off Morgana.

"I cannot," Leon replied. Someone grabbed Merlin's arm and yanked him back before clamping something around his wrist. Merlin whipped around to face his attacker, shocked when he found it was Leon smirking at him. "Surprised?" Leon asked.

"Leon…?" Merlin breathed, feeling sick. No, Leon was his friend, he was _Arthur's _friend. Why would he…?

"Merlin!" Gwaine shouted startling Merlin out of his revere.

"Leon what are you doing?" Lancelot shouted, confusion written plainly across his face.

Merlin tried to use magic to throw Leon off, gasping in pain when the item around his wrist burned him. Merlin finally glanced down and to his horror found the same shackle that Brandon had used to bind his magic.

"You've lost," Morgana informed Merlin. "You lost the moment you'd begun."

Snarling, Gwaine charged, followed by the other knights, but they were all sent flying by Morgana, who then returned to the throne.

"Take them away."

八

Arthur stared at the scene playing out in front of him in horror. _Leon_ was the traitor! He had given Morgana everything she needed to know to easily take Camelot down. They'd trusted him… Arthur shook the thought away, desperately trying not to think about the betrayal. No matter how hard he'd tried, though, Arthur couldn't push away the pain the realization brought him. The man he'd trusted nearly his entire life was the person who'd been helping Morgana to try and kill him to get Camelot.

Could he trust anyone? Everyone he'd ever trusted always turned on him, his uncle, Morgana, Leon, even his father in some ways. Arthur glanced back up at the crystal at Merlin as he was dragged into the dungeons. Despite everything he'd been through, Merlin had stayed loyal to Arthur and Camelot. He'd always looked out for Arthur, even when he didn't have any reason too. Arthur needed to focus on escaping; Merlin and the rest of his men needed him.

Arthur vainly started tugging at the chains that held him down, hoping that somehow he could get them to loosen or something, but they remained firmly attached to the wall. Even if Morgana hadn't magically reinforced them Arthur knew that he wasn't strong enough to break them, but that didn't stop him from trying.

Arthur slumped against the wall, feeling like a failure. Everything they'd done to try and stop Morgana had only helped her. They'd played right into her plan, and now Merlin was going to die because Arthur had been too stupid to realize what was happening.

Arthur jumped slightly when he heard the door leading to the room he was in start to shake. He stared at the door in confusion. If it was Morgana she would have just opened the door. Whoever was trying to get in shook the door again. Before Arthur considered calling out to see who was trying to get in the door flew open and men in armor flooded into the room. Arthur was sure he recognized the green and blue colors that the knights wore but he couldn't quite place them.

"Arthur Pendragon?" The knight asked, stunned.

Arthur studied the face and then it hit him: the man was one of King Harding's knights.

"I'm in Harding's Kingdom?" Arthur asked hoarsely.

"No, Cenred's kingdom," the knight corrected, immediately looking over Arthur suspiciously. "How did you get here?"

"Morgana brought me here," Arthur explained worriedly.

"We'll take him to the king," another knight declared. "He will decide what to do." The knight who'd been speaking to Arthur kneeled down and easily broke through the chains. He roughly dragged Arthur to his feet making, Arthur realize that they probably thought this was some sort of trick. They weren't going to let him go, they would take him further from Camelot. Arthur opened his mouth to say something to convince them to help him when another pair of guards came in dragging someone in-between them.

"We found him in one of the cells," the guard informed the people in the room.

"We'll take him with us," the guard, whom Arthur assumed to be the head declared.

Arthur froze when he saw who the man was: Leon. All Arthur could see was red and he broke free from the guards tight grip and tackled Leon to the ground shouting,

"_You traitor! How could you betra-" _Before he could finish he was roughly pulled away from the treacherous leech and slammed against the wall several times until darkness consumed him.

**A/N**

**Anyone see** _**that**_**coming? Hope you guys enjoyed this! Review and let me know what you thought!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**

**I feel really bad for the long wait, I really do. I hope this makes up for it though!**

Gwaine glared at Leon as he smirked at them. Just to add insult to injury, Morgana had assigned Leon to guard them; to remind them how they wound up in this situation.

"I understand that you were giving Morgana information about what we were doing," Merlin, who was in a cell by himself directly across from Gwaine and the other knights, began, "but my magic… it seemed like you knew my magic wouldn't be strong enough…"

"That's because I ensured that it wouldn't be strong enough," Leon explained, smirking.

"How?" Merlin asked, amazed.

"Morgana knew that you would notice if your magic stopped working, so I gave you a potion that would significantly weaken it," Leon began. "The potion dampened your magic in a way that would make you think it was Arthur's death that was affecting it-"

"And not you," Gwaine snapped, cutting Leon off mid-sentence.

"And you believed it," Leon finished, looking more smug by the second.

"Arthur was your friend," Lancelot whispered. "Why would you betray him?"

"Morgana is the rightful Queen," Leon declared. "Not some servant." Leon glared at Gwen, who was in a different cell with the other servants.

"Even if Uther had told her the truth she never would have gotten the throne," Lancelot argued. "Arthur is older than her so by that alone he would have been given the crown-"

"_No_," Leon snarled. "She is the rightful heir to the throne! No other Pendragon is alive! The crown belongs to her!"

"Arthur made Merlin the heir to the throne," Elyan hissed. "The crown belongs to him-"

"_Silence!_" Leon snarled. "Regardless of what you think, Morgana is queen. Merlin will be dead by the end of the week and no one will be left to stand in her way."

**九**

Arthur groaned and tried to shift, only to find that he couldn't move his arms. He slowly peeled his eyes open and found himself in a forest. Thought it was dark, Arthur was able to make out several knights not too far away sitting by a fire. For a minute, Arthur struggled to remember why he was there and not in Morgana's prison before he remembered that he had been rescued. Well, sort of rescued. Only to be arrested by said rescuers because he attacked Leon… Arthur's mind froze on that one thought as white hot anger for the knight filled him.

While Arthur was chained up like a criminal, the real criminal probably got to roam freely and was treated like royalty…

"Sire?" A hesitant voice asked. Arthur whipped around so quickly his head started hurting and his vision blurred for a minute. He glared at Leon, who was tied up much like Arthur, though this did little to comfort him.

"Sire… why do you think I'm a traitor?"

"Don't even bother," Arthur growled. "I saw what you did. You sold us to Morgana!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Leon exclaimed. "I was captured by Morgana when Agravaine escaped."

Leon's words made Arthur pause. He couldn't say if Leon was telling the truth or not, but Arthur knew that it was impossible for Leon to have travelled to Cenred's kingdom so quickly. Something was wrong.

Arthur eyed Leon wearily before reluctantly saying, "I've known Leon my entire life. When we were kids I told him everything… especially when I was younger. Remember when one of the older knights beat me up?"

"And I convinced you to report him to Uther and he… did nothing?" Leon added, looking hopeful.

"What did I tell you after that?"

"You said you wondered if Uther actually loved you," Leon whispered. "You told me that it seemed like the only people who were nice treated you kindly because you were the prince."

Arthur wanted to believe that what Leon was saying was true, but it didn't explain the second Leon.

"What happened to you?" Arthur whispered.

"I chased after Morgana and was ambushed. When I woke up I was in a prison cell. No one even spoke to me until King Harding's knights rescued us."

"Why would Morgana keep you alive?" Arthur muttered, uncertainty filling him. Leon's story did make sense, why else would he walk away unscathed after chasing after Morgana? But it still didn't explain why she kept Leon alive now.

"I'm not sure," Leon admitted. "All I know is I woke up in a cell and someone shoved food and water in occasionally."

"Camelot's been captured by Morgana. Everyone thinks you betrayed Camelot and helped Morgana and that I'm dead. While Camelot desperately needs us, we're being taken the opposite direction to be potentially thrown in jail for reasons unknown," Arthur spat, getting more and more frustrated by the minute. The odds against them where looking more and more intimidating, but he had to try, he wouldn't give up!

"What do we do now?" Leon asked.

"Plead with King Harding and hope he sees reason and lets us go," Arthur sighed. "It's all we can do."

Leon reluctantly nodded his head and added, "If we can speak with him I'm sure he'll listen."

"He has to," Arthur mumbled. If King Harding didn't listen to them, all would be lost.

十

Merlin stared blankly at the wall, mind unable to process all that had happened. How could he have been so stupid? What made him think he could rule Camelot? He had all but given the throne to Morgana.

"Merlin," Lancelot began, breaking his chain of thought, "this is not your fault."

"This is Leon's fault," Gwaine agreed, spitting the knight's name out like it was poison. "While we all thought he was mourning Arthur's death he was probably celebrating!"

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is," Merlin whispered. "I promised Arthur I would protect Camelot if something happened to him and I couldn't even do that."

Before any of the knights could respond Leon flung the door to Merlin's cell open and hauled him to his feet.

"The Queen has asked for you."

To the protests of the knights, Merlin was dragged out of the dungeons and into the throne room where Morgana was sitting, smirking at him.

"Hello Merlin," Morgana greeted. "I thought we'd play a little game."

"Why don't you just kill me?" Merlin growled, glaring at Morgana with all the strength he had, trying to look as strong as possible despite the fact that he had no magic and was chained up on his knees.

Morgana's smirk grew as she assured him, "Don't worry, I have a slow and painful death planned for you, but first we're going to have some fun." Morgana threw a sword at Merlin's feet and before continuing. "I hear Arthur was training you to use a sword, not that he was very good." Most of Morgana's men laughed at her little 'joke' causing Merlin to harden his glare. "I'd like to see for myself how good you are."

"And if I refuse?" Merlin asked.

Morgana's smirk remained in place. "I was so hoping you'd ask." She waved someone in and continued. "Refuse, and your little friend gets killed."

A pair of guards came in, dragging Evan between them.

"Sire, don't-" Evan began, but one of the guards punched him in the gut, taking his breath away.

"Shut it!" the guard snarled.

"So what will it be?" Morgana asked.

Reluctantly Merlin picked up the sword and the guards undid the chains around his wrists and feet, keeping the bracelet that bound his magic in place.

"Time to see how well Arthur taught you."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**

**So a lot of you where mad that I left you hanging there. Hopefully you guys like this chapter better. Enjoy!**

* * *

When dawn spread across the forest King Harding's men dragged Arthur and Leon to their feet and forced them to walk while they rode along beside them, whipping them if they stumbled or moved too slowly. Arthur felt humiliated by the treatment but forced himself to endure it. He would not look weak in front of these men. When they stopped for a few minutes to eat the captain didn't spare them a glance. When the head looked away one of the knights passed Arthur his water skin and hissed,

"Drink, quickly."

Arthur gratefully took several large mouthfuls before passing it to Leon who did the same.

"Thank you," Arthur whispered.

The knight eyed Arthur and grunted, "Don't thank me yet."

Arthur didn't get a chance to ask what he meant before the captain started barking for them to move out. As they trudged through the sweltering forest Arthur was silently grateful that Morgana had taken his and Leon's armor; he would have passed out hours ago from the heat otherwise. After several hours of walking they finally reached the city. As Arthur was dragged through the town people stopped and stared, whispering and pointing. Arthur felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment but kept his head held high; he was a king… used to be a king. He would not let this get to him.

Eventually they were dragged into the throne room and forced onto their knees. Arthur looked up and saw Harding staring at them, face expressionless. Fear filled him as the minutes passed and the king said nothing. What if he thought what the guards had and locked them up? What would become of Camelot?

"Leave us!" Harding snapped at the guards, startling Arthur.

"But-" the guard protested, only to be cut off by Harding,

"I know what I am doing, now leave us."

"Call if you need me," the guard eventually replied through clenched teeth, sending Arthur one last glare before leaving the throne room.

Harding eyed Arthur carefully. "Last time Arthur Pendragon came here, I told him something important, what did I say to him?"

Arthur returned Harding's gaze. "You told me that blood doesn't mean family, family are the people who were there for you when you needed them to be."

Harding smiled at Arthur then and called the guards back in to remove the chains.

"Morgana has seized control of Camelot," he informed Arthur.

"I know. Morgana had a crystal in the room and I could see what was happening," Arthur explained. "I would forever be indebted to you if you could loan me a pair of horses so I could go and stop her."

"Alone?" Harding asked, eyebrows raised.

"He will not be alone, I will go with him!" Leon declared.

"I cannot allow you to go alone," Harding informed them.

"But I canno-" Arthur protested, only for Harding to cut him off,

"I will send my men with you and contact Queen Annis to see if she will send some men as well. She is an ally of Camelot, yes?"

Arthur numbly nodded his head.

"Then it is decided. Rest tonight, I will send a messenger immediately."

"I can only wait until tomorrow," Arthur eventually said, still dazed.

Harding sighed before reluctantly agreeing, "I understand. Ian will escort you both to your chambers for the night."

"Thank you," Arthur whispered, exhaustion finally starting to take him over.

"Before I forget!" Harding exclaimed, pulling something out of a hidden pocket. "I believe this is yours." Harding tossed something at Arthur, who easily caught it, his hand burning at the touch. He looked down and found a ring with the Pendragon crest on it. Than realization dawned on him: this was his ring.

"Where-?" Arthur began, stunned.

"My men found it on a dead man while patrolling the boarder," Harding explained.

Arthur nodded his head and slipped the ring on, instantly causing both rings to start painfully burning.

日

As the man charged at Merlin, Merlin's ring started burning painfully, making him gasp as he quickly swung his sword to block the man's staggering blow. Someone _stole _Arthur's ring! Ripped it off his dead body and was prancing around like royalty! Rage filled Merlin as he started swinging viciously at his opponent, but all the skill Arthur had managed to teach Merlin was no match for the man's brute strength and speed.

Less than a minute into the battle, the man managed to deeply scrape Merlin's arm. Before he could recover the man knocked Merlin over and pressed his blade against his throat.

"So, Arthur was as bad a teacher as he is a swordsman. How pathetic," Morgana mocked. "Take them away."

Merlin wrapped his arms around himself, wincing in pain as he was roughly dragged to his feet and down into the dungeons. The guards threw him into the cell and he simply curled up in a ball, groaning.

"Merlin?" Elyan asked. Merlin felt a hand touch his shoulder and shake him slightly. "Merlin, what happened?"

Merlin opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself looking directly at Elyan. Frowning, Elyan slowly helped Merlin sit up.

"What's wrong? What happened to his arm?" Gwaine asked frantically.

"Fight…" Merlin groaned, wincing in pain when Lancelot pulled back his sleeve to inspect the injury.

"It doesn't look too deep."

Someone tore something and Lancelot tightly wrapped the material around Merlin's arm.

"You don't have to," Merlin protested weakly, his head still spinning.

"Yes we do," Lancelot snapped.

"I'm a dead man, though," Merlin argued.

None of the knights could argue Merlin's statement. Lancelot glanced mournfully out the tiny window that showed Morgana's men building a large pyre in the courtyard.

"Don't give up," Elyan muttered.

"There is no one that can save you," Leon laughed, smirking at the knights. "Morgana has won. When will you just accept your fates?"

"When we're dead," Gwaine snapped defiantly.

Leon smirked. "I was so hoping you'd say that."

* * *

**End Notes**

**Happy Valentines day! I'll be... a loner but that's life, maybe I'll make myself some super chocolate chip cookies or something. Anyways I hope you enjoyed this! **


	14. Chapter 14

That night, Arthur couldn't sleep. His dreams were filled with visions of him reaching Camelot to find Merlin already burning. He fought to where Merlin was, but when he got to him, Merlin was already dead. Arthur woke up gasping, the smell of burning flesh burning his nostrils and the sounds of Merlin's screams ringing in his ears.

A quick glance out the window told Arthur that it was just after sunrise, and knowing he wouldn't get any more sleep, he stood and quickly got himself dressed. Arthur glanced down at the ring that continued to burn painfully. The only comfort that he got from it was the knowledge that Merlin was still _alive_. The King idly wondered if Merlin realized that Arthur was alive or if he thought someone had stolen the ring and put it on.

Arthur knew that thinking about it was pointless, but the images of Merlin that the crystal had shown haunted him; made him desperately want to bring the smile back onto his friend's face. Would Merlin even believe it was really him if he got to Camelot in time? Or would he lash out in anger and kill Arthur before he had the chance to explain?

Arthur forced the dark thoughts out of his mind and stepped outside, quickly realizing, though, that he had no idea where he planned on going. Should he talk to Harding before leaving or just get Leon and go? Arthur knew that Annis's kingdom was about a day's ride from Harding's kingdom, and Camelot was a good two days hard ride if they went through Cenred's Kingdom. He knew that Merlin didn't have much time; they needed to leave _soon_, but he also knew that leaving now would mean going to battle with no protection. He had no sword and no armor and knew that Leon had nothing either.

They faced impossible odds, but Arthur knew he couldn't just sit back and do _nothing_.

"Couldn't sleep?" a voice asked, snapping Arthur out of his thoughts. Leon stood next to him, looking like he hadn't slept much either.

"I'm worried," Arthur admitted.

"I just hope we're not too late," Leon added.

That was why Arthur knew they needed to leave.

"If Morgana realizes we're gone before we get to Camelot we will have already lost," Arthur agreed. "We need to speak to Harding and leave quickly."

A servant hurried to the pair, bowing deeply. "My Lord, King Harding wishes to speak to you."

Arthur nodded his head and waved the servant on. The servant bowed again before quickly leading them through the maze-like hallways. Arthur couldn't help but think about how Merlin would have already memorized his name and started some strange conversation with him, he then wondered how many servants still followed Brandon's 'training'.

"So, what's your name?" Arthur asked awkwardly, unable to help himself. Merlin really had rubbed off on him, but he couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.

Started, the servant jumped and looked at Arthur with wide eyes before stammering, "N-Noah, my Lord."

Arthur studied Noah; he had dirty blond hair, hazel eyes and very tan skin, as if he'd worked out in the sun for long periods of time.

"So Noah…" Arthur began, unsure how to ask this question, "did… I mean… were you here when Brandon was… around?" Arthur felt silly for asking but he _had_ to know.

Noah paused in front of a large pair of doors before softly replying, "Yes, it was the worst three years of my life." Before Arthur could ask any more questions, Noah pushed the doors open and loudly announced, "Lor- Ki- um… Arthur and Sir Leon!"

Arthur tried not to smile at Noah's confusion as to how to refer to Arthur. Arthur himself wasn't quite sure even. He walked confidently towards Harding, who was sitting in his throne, looking intently at something in his hands.

Harding looked up at them and smiled widely. "Good news, Arthur. Queen Annis has agreed to send her men straight to Camelot! We will have an army that Morgana cannot possibly hope to defeat!"

"The messenger has already returned?" Arthur asked, stunned. Even if the messenger had run hard through the night he would have only gotten there an hour earlier.

Harding smiled at Arthur before gently. "No, I sent my messenger with one of these crystals so he could inform me of Annis's answer immediately." Harding showed Arthur the crystal, and he quickly realized that it was just a smaller version of the crystal Morgana had Arthur looking through. "Morgana probably enchanted the one you had to see and hear what was happening, though that's the best you can hope for with only one crystal," Harding explained. "Am I right though in thinking you plan to leave immediately?"

"The minute Morgana realizes we've escaped she'll kill Merlin. We need to reach Camelot before she does."

Harding nodded his head sadly. "I thought as much. My men and I cannot leave just yet, but let me send you both off with these." A pair of servants walked up with armor and weapons for both Arthur and Leon. "My servants are already preparing your horses with enough supplies for the journey."

"Your generosity is overwhelming my Lord," Arthur replied, bowing deeply.

"This kingdom owes Camelot much," Harding explained. "Now go! We will see each other soon, and we will free Camelot from her chains!"

水

Merlin couldn't even begin to describe the deep feeling of loathing that filled him when he thought about whoever had stolen Arthur's ring. Earlier that morning, his ring had flared painfully, reminding him again of what had happened. Throughout the day his ring continued to burn, giving Merlin the small satisfaction that at least whoever had stolen it would suffer.

Even as Merlin thought that, he felt disgusted with himself. What if whoever had the ring had innocently bought it from the real thief thinking it was just a nice ring? Merlin groaned and tried to push the thought away. He couldn't waste energy worrying about faceless people; he needed to focus. For the past few days, though, it had been getting harder and harder to focus.

The day before Morgana had once again dragged Merlin out and forced him to fight, but this battle seemed to have been even shorter than the previous, and he had received a deep cut on his leg that bled heavily. His injured arm burned painfully when he moved it, and upon closer inspection by Lancelot they found that the wound was infected. Merlin wasn't sure what was happening anymore, he was pretty sure the knights tried to clean both injuries and wrap them, but he couldn't be sure.

With blurred vision, Merlin looked out at the pyre Morgana had her men building with confusion in his eyes. Did Morgana plan to have him die from infections or did she plan on burning him? Or did she plan on doing some sick combination of both? Merlin wasn't sure, and his fevered brain couldn't be bothered to figure it out.

"I don't understand," Gwaine, at least he thought it was Gwaine, muttered. "Why is he getting so sick?"

Someone placed a cool hand on Merlin's forehead. Groaning, he leaned into the touch, the cool doing some to help his pounding head.

"His magic always protected him," someone else calmly explained. "His body isn't used to having to fight on its own… which is why the infection is spreading faster."

Merlin thought that made some sort of sense, but when he tried to think about it more his head started throbbing.

"Do you think the blade was poisoned?" someone asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised," a voice that was very close muttered darkly.

"These conditions certainly aren't ideal for someone with several open wounds," someone sighed. Merlin's mind was unable to keep up with all the different people talking.

He heard the door open and a gruff voice snap, "Move it."

"He can't fight anymore!" Lancelot snapped.

"Not our problem," the voice growled.

"Why are you even bothering?" a female voice mocked. "You're only delaying the inevitable." Morgana, Merlin was sure she was the one talking.

There was shouting and the sound of someone getting hit.

"Congratulations, Merlin gets to live another day," Morgana continued.

Merlin weakly opened his eyes and looked over to see a pair of guards dragging Gwaine away.

"N-no… Gwaine…" Merlin slurred, trying to sit up, only to be gently pushed back down by Lancelot.

"I'll be fine Merlin," Gwaine assured him, flashing a grin.

Merlin's vision started to blur before darkness consumed him.

**End Notes**

**So how much do you guys hate me now? Let me know what you guys thought!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**

**Time to play find that quote! Something from Cars 2 fit perfectly for the situation and well I accidentally took it almost word for word so credit to Disney for that... find it and you win a virtual cookie! A big shout out to Hatstand who helped me with this. Enjoy!**

Darkness quickly settled over the forest, forcing Arthur to stop for the night. He was loath to stop for very long; his ring had burned hotter than Arthur ever remembered feeling it burn and he feared that Merlin didn't have another day, but he knew that he couldn't possibly ride through the night and reluctantly dismounted.

As the pair made camp, Leon didn't even bother trying to reassure Arthur. He knew that it was pointless. Both knew there was only a slim chance that they'd make it back to Camelot before Morgana killed Merlin, but they had to try.

When Arthur shut his eyes later that night, all he could see was fire. It devoured everything Arthur cared about: his people, his men, Gwen, Merlin, all of them; their screams filled the air as their flesh burned. Arthur sat up gasping, his whole body trembling. What if all of this was also a part of Morgana's plan? What if she was waiting to kill Merlin until he got there so he could see it?

Arthur knew that it was pointless worrying about things he had no control over, but the thought of losing Merlin made him feel ill. He couldn't imagine how hard the past few weeks had been for Merlin. Sighing, Arthur picked up the sword Harding had given him, knowing he needed to distract himself from these troubling thoughts. He held up the sword, testing its balance, trying to focus his mind on the weapon and nothing else.

Leon watched Arthur as he practiced, noting the deep bags under his eyes. He was worried out of his mind about Merlin. Leon could tell Arthur hadn't been sleeping well and wouldn't until he knew Merlin was safe. Leon wanted to get his hands on the bastard who pretended to be him and put Camelot in danger in the first place, but that would have to wait. First they had to get to Camelot in one piece.

"Arthur, you should get some rest," Leon informed Arthur.

Arthur slowly lowered his sword before turning to Leon. "I can't sleep…"

"You need your strength," Leon insisted.

"I see them burn," Arthur whispered. "Every time I sleep that's all I see… I can't lose them… any of them…"

"We will save them," Leon firmly told Arthur who looked at Leon doubtfully. "I know we will."

Arthur stared at his gloved hand where he knew the ring was. The painful burning continued to intensify, making Arthur wonder how badly hurt Merlin already was. Was Gwen even alive now? His men?

"We must not lose faith," Leon whispered. Arthur had to keep faith; it was all they had left.

木

When Merlin slowly came back around he could tell it was very early, though how many days had passed was a mystery. Eventually, Merlin managed to find Gwaine, who was sitting on the floor not too far away from him, covered in scrapes and bruises.

"Merlin, I'm fine," Gwaine assured when he noticed Merlin staring at him.

"I'm sorry…" Merlin croaked, but Gwaine shook his head.

"Don't worry about me. You're the one we're all worried about right now."

Groaning, Merlin slowly sat up. "How long…?" he asked. He paused, unsure how to word his question.

Seeming to understand what Merlin was trying to ask, Gwaine looked uncertain before telling him, "You've been out of it for a couple of days."

Shaking his head Merlin looked out the window muttering, "What is she waiting for?" Even in Merlin's fevered state he realized that Morgana was up to something. What, though?

Merlin looked out the cell when he heard a door being flung open and Morgana screeching, "I want him found _now!_ Get Merlin!"

A pair of guards flung the door to Merlin's cell open and marched over to him, dragging the warlock to his feet and shoving the angry knights out of their way.

"What are you doing to him?" Lancelot shouted.

Morgana smirked back at them as Merlin was dragged out of the dungeons. "Don't worry; you'll have a perfect view of the show from where you are."

"No!" Gwaine shouted, flinging himself at the cell door as the guards slammed it in his face.

"Don't worry, you'll be next," Morgana snarled.

Leon smirked at them as Merlin was dragged away.

"I don't see why you're so surprised," Leon said dispassionately. "You knew this day was coming."

"I bet you didn't see this day coming," a voice growled as a knife was hurled at Leon.

"Leon?"

金

Over the next two days, Arthur and Leon rode as hard as they possibly could, only stopping when absolutely necessary, and were able to reach Camelot just before dawn. The pair stopped in a clearing not far from Camelot to try and come up with a plan. Arthur felt his ring burning with more intensity every second and knew that Morgana had discovered they'd escaped.

"We don't have much time," Arthur informed Leon, who didn't even question how he knew.

"But we need a plan," Leon calmly insisted.

For the past two days Arthur had vainly tried to come up with some sort of plan to get into the citadel without being detected, but so far hadn't been able to come up with anything.

"What if we snuck through the tunnels?" Leon suggested.

"Morgana knows about those," Arthur sighed. "We need some sort of distraction… a big distraction…"

"You run through the town?" Leon suggested. Arthur glared at Leon, who shrugged. "It would draw attention."

"What we need is a way to get inside undetected," Arthur sighed.

"We could sneak into the city and steal some armor," Leon suggested after a few minutes. "Since everyone thinks I'm loyal to Morgana no one would question me walking through town."

"We can see," Arthur reluctantly agreed. Arthur hid nearby while Leon approached the guards standing by the gates.

"Let me through," Leon barked, glaring at the guards who eyed Leon disbelievingly.

"I thought you were guarding the prisoners?" One brave guard asked.

Leon grinned at the guard and said, "Really? Thanks." Leon than whipped out his sword and stabbed one of the guards before he realized what was happening. The other guard swung at Leon, but Arthur jumped from his hiding place and blocked the blow. The guard paled as if he'd seen a ghost and stammered,

"Y-you're dead!"

"Than this shouldn't hurt," Arthur calmly replied, kicking the second guard and stabbing him before he could raise the alarm.

"This ought to get us inside," Leon declared.

Arthur nodded his head and agreed, "If we lay low we should get through unnoticed. I'll go find Morgana, you go down to the prison, free the knights." Once the guards where dealt with they took their armor and entered the city.

"Time to free Camelot."

土

The dagger grazed Leon's neck, snapping a cord that hung there, causing a strange crystal the fall to the ground. Gwaine immediately recognized the crystal and looked up to find Agravaine staring at him rather than Leon.

"If you're going to hurt my friends," someone snarled. "Don't use my face to do so."

"Leon!" Gwaine shouted. The real Leon walked over to Agravaine, glaring daggers at him.

"How dare you use my face to hurt Camelot!" Leon growled.

Snarling, Agravaine charged at Leon, sword raised. Leon easily blocked his sword and shoved Agravaine to the ground before plunging his sword into the man's chest. Leon glared at Agravine as he picked up the keys to the cells and unlocked the one with Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and Lancelot. The moment the door opened, Gwaine threw himself at Leon.

"I knew you'd never betray us!"

"Yes, if only we'd listened to you, Leon," Lancelot agreed sarcastically.

"He was the beacon of confidence in your loyalty to Camelot," Elyan agreed, rolling his eyes.

Percival snatched the keys and started freeing the other knights. Leon shoved Gwaine off him.

"Where's Merlin?" he asked.

"Morgana's having him executed!" Gwaine declared, growing somber.

"We have to hurry. We can stop Morgana!" Leon asserted.

"How? We're outnumbered five to one!" Elyan exclaimed.

"Arthur got King Harding and Queen Annis to send their men to he-"

"Arthur's alive?" Gwen exclaimed, looking shocked, as were the knights. Leon sighed; he kept forgetting that all of Camelot thought Arthur was dead.

"Look it's a long story but Arthur was never dead! Now we have to hurry!"

"Let's do this."

**End Notes**

**What did you think? Let me know what you thought!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N**

**So... no one found the quote... oh well, on to the next chapter!**

Arthur carefully made his way through the city, praying that no one would recognize him. Watching the way Morgana's men treated his people made him want to lash out and kill every single one of them, but he knew he needed to wait for the right moment…

"Get up!" one knight snarled, kicking a young boy who had stumbled to the ground.

Arthur froze; struggling not to rip out his sword and run the man through. Instead, Arthur watched as the young boy dragged himself to his feet and continued marching towards the town square along with the rest of the crowd. Curious, Arthur followed along, trying to blend in as one of Morgana's men, making sure his helmet hid his face. When they reached the square, Arthur found himself looking at a huge pyre. With a sinking feeling he realized who it was for.

"This serves as a warning," Morgana shouted, looking smug. "Anyone who defies me will burn."

Arthur caught a glimpse of a pair of guards dragging someone towards the pyre. Upon closer inspection Arthur realized it was Merlin. He looked much paler than Arthur remembered and he had lost even more weight. The way the guards clutched Merlin's thin frame told Arthur that he was weak, very weak.

Things where not going well for Arthur and Leon. They had hoped that Merlin was still in prison and that they could bust him out, leave Camelot, and wait for Harding and his men to get there; but now they would have to either let Merlin die or improvise and hope for the best. Both options seemed to only end in death.

Arthur watched in horror as Merlin was tied to the pyre and the torch was lowered to his feet. He frantically scrambled to think of something, _anything,_ as the flames rapidly spread. A feeling of hopelessness filled him as the flames got closer to his friend. Slowly, he started reaching for his sword. If he died, at least he would die trying to save his friend…

"_Charge!_"

時

Flames. They filled his vision, filling him with the knowledge that he was going to die soon. The smoke burned his nostrils as the fire rose higher and higher around him. He could feel the flames catch onto his clothing, burning his injured arm. The only condolence Merlin could find was that soon he'd see Arthur again…

"_Charge!"_ a voice shouted.

Suddenly, Merlin found himself watching as Camelot's knights started attacking Morgana's men. The tight ropes that held him loosened and Merlin, too weak to hold himself up, fell, but never hit the ground. With blurred vision, Merlin looked up at the person who was holding him up and stared in confusion. Something must have been wrong with him because he was sure it was Arthur who was staring down at him in worry.

"Merlin? Are you ok?"

What he was seeing made absolutely no sense. How could Arthur be there?

友

Arthur was getting more concerned by the second, Merlin didn't seem to register that he was even there. Another serious problem, though, quickly caught Arthur's attention. How were they going to get that bracelet off?

_"Arthur!" _Morgana snarled.

"Give up, Morgana!" Arthur shouted over the clanging of swords. "You've lost!"

Morgana burst out laughing at Arthur's statement. "What makes you think that freeing your knights will do anything?"

Suddenly, hundreds of knights burst into the courtyard bearing Queen Annis and King Hardings' colors.

Arthur smirked at Morgana and replied, "Them."

Morgana screamed in anger. "_You will pay!_" Her eyes flashed gold, but before she could do anything she gasped in pain and stumbled away from Leon.

"Agravaine…?" Morgana gasped, hurt plain in her expression.

"That treacherous leech is dead," Leon growled. "And you'll be next."

Eyes flashing, Morgana sent them flying and stumbled away. Merlin weakly tried to drag himself to his feet to go after her, but couldn't even get on his hands and knees.

"We have to stop her!" Leon shouted, dragging himself to his feet and running over to the pair.

"I'll take care of Morgana," Arthur growled. "Get help for Merlin."

Leon nodded his head as Arthur ran off. Lancelot and Gwaine appeared next to Leon and helped Merlin, who watched them with glossy eyes, sit up.

"How are we going to get this thing off if Agravaine is dead?" Gwaine demanded, eyeing Merlin worriedly.

Leon stared intently at the shackle around Merlin's wrist and slowly asked, "Agravaine was disguised as me when he put it on Merlin right?"

"Yeah, so?" Gwaine snapped.

"I think I can take it off," Leon informed them, grabbing Merlin's arm. Slowly, Leon reached over and undid the clasp on the shackle causing it to fall off, revealing painful looking burns on Merlin's wrist.

Merlin stiffened when he felt a strange sensation filling him, relaxing as warmth spread through him. His magic, it was coming back, but why? Merlin glanced down at his wrist and found the shackle was gone. Why would the traitor take it off though? Merlin shook his head forcing himself to focus. He needed to stop Morgana; she was still in Camelot; that, he was sure of. Merlin shakily got to his feet, only to be held back by a concerned Gwaine.

"What are you doing?"

"Morgana," Merlin gasped, trying to pull himself free. "Have… to… sto-"

"She'll kill you!" Lancelot exclaimed.

"Maybe it's what I deserve," Merlin whispered, thinking of Arthur and every innocent person Morgana had killed. If he died, then he would go down fighting.

"You can barely walk!" Elyan argued.

"I can't sit back… and let others… fight for me…" Merlin hissed. "I won't."

達

Arthur wove through the castle, forced often to stop to handle Morgana's men. By the time he reached the throne room, Arthur was exhausted and covered in cuts. He had no idea how he was going to stop Morgana, but he had to do _something_.

"Hello, brother," Morgana greeted, slowly standing, her arm still wrapped around her wound.

"You can't win, Morgana," Arthur whispered. "You're going to die from that wound…"

Morgana simply laughed. "Don't worry, Arthur, I am a high priestess. This silly thing won't stop me."

"But I will!" Arthur declared. "You shouldn't have let me live."

"I won't make that mistake again." Morgana's eyes flashed, sending Arthur flying into the wall.

Arthur slowly pulled himself to his feet as Morgana's men swarmed into the room. Arthur easily blocked the first blow that was thrown at him, shoving the man back and swinging at the second knight charging at him. The knight blocked the blow, pushing Arthur down with his weight. Arthur kicked the man, causing him to stumble, and stabbed him while he was distracted.

Arthur's body moved before his mind even registered what was going on around him. He was focused solely on his opponents. For every man that Arthur took down, another quickly took his place.

"Come fight me yourself!" Arthur shouted as he hit a knight's hand with the hilt of his sword, causing the knight to drop his sword. "Or are you too scared?"

Before Morgana could respond the doors to the throne room burst open and Morgana's men went flying, hitting the walls with a sickening crunch to reveal Merlin, who swayed dangerously on his feet. Though he was obviously ill, there was a fire in his eyes that made Arthur grateful that he was not fighting Merlin.

"Morgana!" Merlin roared. "... Leave Camelot… or I will kill you…"

"You think you can stop me?" Morgana asked, laughter filling her voice.

Merlin raised his hand, his eyes flashing gold, sending Morgana flying. Morgana groaned and threw her hand out in return, causing Merlin to slam into the wall. Merlin barked a spell, raising a discarded spear off the ground and lighting it with a blue flame, and threw it at Morgana, who threw up a hasty shield, barely stopping it from hitting her.

"Your magic is no match for me!" Morgana snarled. "You are weak!"

"You're wrong, Morgana," Merlin whispered. "And you should never have come to Camelot!"

Morgana snarled and threw a fireball at Merlin, who easily deflected it and sent it back at Morgana, who barely stopped it. Before Morgana could recover, Merlin threw her at the wall. She hit it with a crunch. Morgana crumpled to the ground, unmoving. Merlin slowly approached her, uncertainty written across his face. Arthur was about to call out to him when he was a couple of feet from Morgana when, with a snarl, Morgana threw a dagger at Merlin and vanished.

Merlin, who was unprepared for the attack, couldn't stop it before it buried itself deeply in his chest. He collapsed to the ground, gasping in pain. Before darkness consumed him, he heard saw Arthur running towards him shouting,

"Merlin!"

Merlin's last conscious thought was. _At least I'll see Arthur…_

**End Notes**

**Will Merlin live? What will happen to Morgana? Tune in next week to find out!**


	17. Chapter 17

Everything became a blur for Arthur; all he could think about was getting Merlin help before it was too late. As he dragged him through the castle, his only condolence was Merlin's weak breathing on his neck. When the castle shook, Arthur stumbled, causing him to lose his grip on Merlin and crash to the ground. A loud roar filled the castle, signaling that Kilgharrah was here, and he was angry. Why the stupid dragon hadn't come earlier was a mystery to Arthur. If he lived through this, he was going to have a very angry conversation with him.

"_Arthur!_" Leon shouted, running over to the pair. "What happened?"

"Morgana's gone…" Arthur gasped as Leon gently pulled him to his feet. "Merlin's hurt…"

"Gaius is taking care of the injured in the council chambers," Percival assured, carefully picking up Merlin and running down the corridor.

"What's happening?" Arthur gasped as Leon supported him, guiding him in the same direction that Percival had gone.

"Morgana's men are retreating!" Leon exclaimed, relief evident in his voice. "We won!"

"Then why doesn't it feel like a victory?" Arthur whispered.

Leon didn't have an answer.

気

Arthur had wanted to go and see Merlin right away, but Leon insisted that he needed care and patched him up first. Arthur waited impatiently for him to finish. Before he could slip away, though, the council informed him that King Harding and Queen Annis wanted to see him.

Frustrated, Arthur had snapped, "Why? I'm not the king!"

"They asked for you," the snotty council member replied.

Arthur huffed in annoyance and went to King Harding's chambers, forcing himself to act dignified.

Arthur bowed deeply and asked, "You wished to speak to me?"

"Was the witch killed?" Queen Annis asked, as to the point as always.

"I don't believe so," Arthur reluctantly admitted. "She was severely injured, but got away. She has the power to heal herself."

"I had hoped she wouldn't escape, but I feared that it would be the case," King Harding admitted. "How is Merlin?"

Arthur sighed, a pained expression on his face. "Morgana hurt him pretty badly. Gaius… he says we just have to wait and see."

後

Merlin wasn't sure how many days passed. Everything was a muddled mess. Gaius and various knights appeared at his bedside occasionally, though Merlin wasn't sure how long passed between their visits. Several times, Arthur appeared, begging him to 'stay'. Where Arthur wanted Merlin to stay was a mystery to him, though. Arthur was dead; did he want Merlin to stay dead? Or was his fever addled brain conjuring up his friend?

When Merlin woke up with his head clearer than it had been in days, he slowly took in his surroundings, noticing that he was in his own chambers again and he was alone. Merlin glanced out the window and realized it was somewhere around mid-day. He sat up slowly, wincing when he put too much weight on his bad arm. He glanced down and found it was thickly wrapped in bandages. Slowly sitting up using, only his good arm this time, Merlin tried to remember what had happened.

All he knew was that he wasn't dead. Everything _hurt_ too much. He remembered burning, fighting Morgana, getting stabbed… He should be dead but somehow he wasn't. He remembered Arthur standing over him, covered in dirt and grime like he too had been fighting. Merlin sighed, knowing that that was just a dream, a hallucination or something.

Knowing he wouldn't get any answers sitting around, Merlin stood, testing his injured leg before putting more weight on it. He slowly pulled on his boots as his stiff body protested to the movement. Once Merlin deemed himself mostly presentable he slowly limped towards the door and left his chambers. Glancing in the hallways, though, he found them filled with servants and knights wearing unfamiliar colors. Was he still in Camelot? Everyone stepped out of Merlin's way as he slowly limped down the hallways, Merlin not recognizing anyone he passed. Where was he? He could have sworn he'd been in his own chambers…

"Merlin!" a familiar voice shouted.

Merlin whipped around and found Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan and Percival hurrying towards him.

"Are we still in Camelot?" Merlin asked once they were closer, causing the knights to grin.

"Yes. Queen Annis and King Harding sent their men to fight Morgana!" Elyan explained.

"How did they…?" Merlin began, but Leon walked up saying,

"We brought them here."

Merlin's gaze hardened as he looked at the treacherous knight. Why wasn't he in prison? Why did they trust him?

"Don't worry, Merlin. This is the real Leon," Gwaine assured.

"Real Leon?" Merlin asked confused. "We?"

"When Agravaine escaped, Morgana kidnapped Leon and had Agravaine disguise himself as him," said a voice Merlin thought he'd never hear again. "Harding found where Morgana was keeping us and released us."

"Arthur?" Merlin whispered, disbelief laced through his voice. Arthur was standing there with him, alive.

"Arthur was never dead," Leon explained.

"Morgana found out about the rings, stole mine and put it on a dead man," Arthur explained.

Merlin continued to stare at Arthur in a daze. "No… You're dead…" he whispered shaking his head.

"Merlin, I was there fighting Morgana!" Arthur exclaimed.

So he hadn't imagined Arthur… No, this must be some sort of hallucination or something.

"Just listen to him," Lancelot begged.

Merlin glared at Arthur before huffing and turning away from them and walking in the other direction. Uncertain, Arthur and the knights followed him. Arthur caught up to Merlin in his room, jumping when he slammed the door in the knights' faces.

"Merlin?" Gwaine called, sounding worried.

"I need to talk to him alone!" Merlin snapped, silencing the knights. Without turning to look at him Merlin asked, "Why should I believe that you're the real Arthur? Or that Arthur is even alive?"

"You're my best friend… my brother…" Arthur replied.

"That's not an answer," Merlin whispered, still refusing to look back at him, instead staring straight at the door.

"But it's the truth," Arthur argued.

"It doesn't prove anything, though," Merlin countered.

"No," Arthur agreed, "it doesn't. Ask my anything, anything that only Arthur would know."

Merlin's body stiffened at Arthur's words, but Arthur wasn't sure what it meant.

Merlin's mind was reeling as he tried to process everything that was happening. He wanted to believe that Arthur was alive so badly… but a part of him was still wary. What if it was a trap? What if Morgana had disguised herself like Agravaine had? Merlin refused to let himself hope that it was true. He was so confused and tired. He just wanted to go back to the way things where before he'd agreed to pretend to be a prince…

"When I told you about my magic… well, why did I tell you?" Merlin blurted out, unable to take the silence anymore.

"You were upset about Will," Arthur immediately replied. "It was the three year anniversary of his death."

Merlin fought back the voice that was screaming _Arthur is alive!_ He allowed himself to look at the man behind him, and locked eyes with him. All he saw shining back at him was worry, for him. Arthur was actually concerned for Merlin's wellbeing in a way that only Arthur could. The man in front of him held himself exactly as Merlin remembered Arthur would.

"You're… alive?" Merlin asked breathlessly, just daring to believe it.

Arthur grinned at Merlin's statement. "Yeah."

Merlin flung himself at Arthur, pulling the older man into a rough hug. Just as Arthur was about to return it, Merlin shoved him back and punched him, hard.

"You let me think you were dead for _weeks,_ you royal prat!" Merlin snapped, punching Arthur again, but with less force.

"I'm sorry," Arthur whispered, guilt making his heart clench.

"Do you know what I- we've all been through?" Merlin continued, hitting Arthur again with very little force before wrapping his arms around him, his body shaking.

"I'm so sorry," Arthur whispered, wrapping his arms around the trembling man. "I really am. You guys shouldn't have had to go through all of this…"

Merlin shut his eyes, letting himself feel safe for the first time in what felt like weeks. He was so tired… and warm…

"Merlin?" Arthur asked when he felt Merlin's grip slackening.

"Hmm…?" Merlin mumbled sleepily, everything hitting him at once. He was so tired…

"I think you need to get some rest," Arthur teased, grinning.

"No… I can't… you should be king…" Merlin slurred.

"What?" Arthur asked frowning slightly.

"I can't be king… you need to be…" Merlin mumbled as Arthur awkwardly led Merlin to bed. "Just take the crown… don't want it…"

"Merlin, don't worry about that right now. Worry about getting better," Arthur gently told him.

"But…"

"Don't worry; I'll take care of things. Just rest."

Merlin found himself lying in his bed, Arthur pulling his boots of. "Someone will be here when you wake up…"

Merlin didn't hear the rest of his sentence, though, having long since fallen into sweet nothingness.

**End Notes**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it! Only one chapter left :(**


	18. Chapter 18

Arthur quietly slipped out of Merlin's chambers, a heavy weight lifting off of his shoulders. Merlin was getting better, he was back in Camelot, and he hadn't tried to kill Arthur for disappearing; things were finally starting to look better.

"It seems your conversation went much better than I thought it would," Gwaine commented dryly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arthur sighed, rolling his eyes, completely unsurprised that his men had stayed.

"I expected Merlin to blow you up right away, so the fact that you walked out in one piece is a good sign," Gwaine explained.

"He listened to me," Arthur replied shrugging. "Now I can worry about helping with repairs."

Arthur soon found himself wandering the streets, just trying to take in the mass destruction Morgana had wrought in a mere week. He could barely recognize the city; most of the houses were destroyed, the dead lined the streets, and much of the forest had been burnt.

The most painful part of it all was seeing the empty streets. Though it was the middle of the day, very few people walked through the streets, it was as if the town had been completely abandoned. King Harding had informed Arthur that some refuges from Camelot had made their way to his kingdom while Morgana was in power, but he didn't think this many had fled.

All Arthur could think about as he took in the destruction was how he'd failed his people. It was his job to protect his kingdom, whether or not he was still king. A part of him wanted to leave Camelot and let Merlin keep ruling. Did he really want to become king again? He felt so free, not having the weight of his kingdom on his shoulders, he could leave and just be Arthur, but he knew he could never do that to Merlin. It was his destiny to rule, not Merlin's. But, he also knew that he would give up everything for his people.

銀

When Merlin woke up again he found Gaius staring down at him, carefully checking his wounds.

Gaius smiled down at him. "My boy."

Grinning, Merlin sat up and wrapped his arms around Gaius.

"Is this… real?" he whispered.

Pulling away from him Gaius asked, "What do you mean?"

"Please… just tell me it wasn't a dream… is Arthur alive?"

Gaius warmly smiled at Merlin and assured him, "Don't worry. He's alive."

Merlin fell back into the bed, laughing.

Gaius grinned at him and said, "Sit up; I need to check your wounds."

Merlin sighed and sat up, pulling up his shirt as he did so. He winced when his chest started burning.

"What happened while I was out?"

"King Harding, Queen Annis, and their men left yesterday. Arthur is helping put the town back together. Kilgharrah did some serious damage."

"I once told him I'd kill him if he ever hurt someone in Camelot… now I want to hug him," Merlin informed Gaius, causing him to laugh.

"I'm sure he'd appreciate you not killing him."

As Gaius went about his work, Merlin stiffened, realization dawning on him. "I bet that stupid lizard _knew_ Arthur was alive!" he snapped, looking furious. "I'll kill him!"

"Weren't you just saying you wanted to hug him?" Gaius asked mockingly. Merlin huffed in annoyance as Gaius rebadged him. "Your injuries seem to be healing nicely."

"No thanks to Kilgharrah," Merlin grumbled, causing Gaius to chuckle.

"Hush, Merlin, I'm sure he had a perfectly good -" Gaius looked at Merlin who stared back at him with raised eyebrows. "Well… I'm sure he had _some_ reason, good or bad." Gaius amended.

Merlin grunted and stood up. "So where is the royal prat?"

"He was overseeing repairs in the lower town when last I saw him," Gaius replied, eyeing Merlin. "Merlin, you are on bed rest!"

"I should be helping!" Merlin protested, standing up.

"Merlin, you're still healing," Gaius scolded. "You need rest. I don't want you reopening any of your injuries."

"But-"

"No, you can't use magic to heal yourself," Gaius interrupted.

"Gaius-" Merlin began but was once again cut off.

"I don't want you getting hurt. You lost your magic for a week; it was a shock to your body to get it all back so suddenly. Don't push your luck trying to speed your healing along."

Merlin huffed and sat back down on the bed, looking thoroughly annoyed.

The door banged open, causing Gaius to jump and stiffen; relaxing when he saw it was Gwaine.

"Don't do that, Gwaine!" He scolded. "My old heart can't take these surprises!"

"Sorry, Gaius," Gwaine apologized, looking genuinely sorry. "Princess… uhh... Arthur, I guess - that's no fun - wanted me to ask you if it was ok for him to-"

"Tell Arthur that he's king he can do whatever he wants," Merlin groaned.

Gwaine grinned and replied, "Unfortunately it doesn't really work that way."

"Fine. Tell Arthur that I give him permission to do whatever he deems necessary for repairs."

"What if he does something stupid?" Gwaine asked.

"I'll throw him in the stocks," Merlin sighed, causing Gwaine to perk up.

"You sure you want to give up this king thing? You're giving up the power to throw the princess in the stocks!"

Merlin smirked slightly, rolling his eyes. "Trust me, it's not as fun as you'd think."

"Just picture it! Arthur in the stocks being pelted with rotten fruit!" Gwaine exclaimed.

"As fun as that sounds, something tells me you'd be the only one stupid enough to throw rotten fruit at him," Merlin informed Gwaine.

Gwaine pouted and grumbled, "Spoil sport."

Merlin rolled his eyes, smiling fondly at the knight. "In all seriousness, though, how are you feeling?"

"Tired," Merlin admitted, "and really sore."

"Morgana did a lot of damage," Gwaine agreed. Merlin knew he meant more than him or the buildings.

"How many…" Merlin began, but was cut off by Gwaine,

"Don't. There was nothing you could have done."

"I should have realized something was wrong!" Merlin exclaimed.

Looking sympathetic, Gwaine assured, "None of us realized… we were all too upset about Arthur."

"A lot of good people died because I 'got upset'."

"We," Gwaine corrected.

"What?" Merlin asked, confused.

"A lot of good people died because we let emotions cloud our judgment. A lot of people died because we left rather than search for Arthur. That blood is on our hands just as much, if not more so, than on yours."

"I wish I'd killed her," Merlin growled darkly.

"There are a lot of people who want to see her dead," Gwaine agreed. "She has even more blood on her hands; blood that will never wash away."

Merlin sighed and mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"You don-" Gwaine began but Merlin interrupted him,

"I know… I'm so- it's just a force of habit I guess…"

Gwaine grinned. "Hey, it's why we love you. Some more so than others."

"Don't ever start, Gwaine," Merlin sighed, grinning slightly.

"Hey, I needed to lighten the mood," Gwaine replied as an explanation.

"Because that makes everything ok," Merlin agreed, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I better get going before Princess - no wait, Arthur - comes looking for me. I seriously need a new nickname for him."

"Don't worry. You'll be able to call him princess all you like soon."

"But you won't be able to throw him in the stocks!" Gwaine protested.

"I really don't care," Merlin sighed. He just wanted to go back to being Arthur's servant. Nothing special, just Merlin.

Gwaine stared at Merlin, before saying, "I don't understand you sometimes."

* * *

The next week was one of the slowest in Merlin's life; he wasn't allowed to leave his chambers and was on forced bed rest. True to his word, though, Arthur took care of all kingly maters so Merlin could rest, and visited him daily with news on how repairs were going.

Despite all of that, though, Merlin was going stir crazy. He'd been sitting in bed doing nothing all week; he was bored out of his mind and beyond frustrated.

"Gaius, when can I go out and do _something,_" Merlin groaned when Gaius came in. Gaius didn't answer as he carefully looked Merlin over, muttering under his breath as he did so. "I've been sitting all week!"

Gaius sighed and reluctantly told him, "I guess it would be alright for you to walk around for a little while…"

"Really?" Merlin exclaimed, standing up.

"If you're careful…"

Merlin grabbed his boots and pulled them. "Thank you!" he exclaimed.

"Make sure someone is with you!" Gaius ordered, making Merlin groan.

"I don't need a babysitter!"

Evan stepped inside the room and asked, "Is there anything you need?"

Gaius grinned and Merlin glared at the physician.

"Don't-" Merlin warned, but Gaius ignored him.

"Evan, Merlin needs your assistance."

"I'm fine!" Merlin snapped.

"Keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't hurt himself," Gaius ordered, glaring at Merlin.

"I don't need a babysitter," Merlin growled.

"What about company?" Evan suggested.

Merlin huffed and stomped out of the room, followed by a slightly worried Evan.

"We're just concerned," Evan mumbled after he'd caught up.

"I know," Merlin assured. "It's just suffocating…"

Evan shrugged and replied, "It shows they care."

Merlin grinned. "They do care."

"_Meerrrrllliiiiinnnnnn!" _Gwaine shouted, running over to the pair and flinging his arms around the warlock. "You were gone for so long I thought you'd _died!" _Merlin glared at Gwaine who asked innocently, "Too soon?"

Merlin rolled his eyes and shoved Gwaine off of him. "I missed you for the whole hour I didn't see you."

"I almost forgot what you looked like!" Gwaine lamented.

"Are you a dog or a knight?" Leon sighed, joining the rapidly growing group.

"I think he's a dog," Percival declared, grinning.

"Why did Arthur knight a dog, again?" Elyan asked smirking.

"He was desperate," Leon replied, shrugging.

"It's good to see you up and about. You are allowed this time, right?" Lancelot asked, glaring at Merlin.

"The warden released me… with a babysitter," Merlin groaned.

"Poor Evan, reduced to babysitting," Gwaine sighed.

"Someone seems very chipper today," Arthur drawled, walking over to the group. "I think you need a few extra hours of training."

Gwaine started at Arthur in horror. "But we just spent _hours_ cleaning!"

"You think bandits will care if you're tired?" Arthur replied emotionlessly. "Besides, you seemed to have plenty of energy a few seconds ago."

"Arthur, stop being a prat," Merlin sighed.

Arthur grinned slightly before sighing dramatically and bowing mockingly. "Of course, my lord."

Glaring, Merlin grabbed Arthur's shoulders and forced him upright. "Don't you dare! We are making you king again right now!" He took Arthur's arm and started dragging him to the throne room, much to the knights' amusement.

"The council will be glad you're so willing to give up the throne," Arthur commented dryly, allowing Merlin to drag him through the castle.

"Why do you say that?" Merlin asked, not slowing down, ignoring the knight's and Evan's annoyed comments for him to slow down.

"I think the council was willing to lead a revolt for me to get the crown back," Arthur growled, his expression darkening, causing Merlin to stop in his tracks.

"Did Lord Daniel happen to say something to you?" Merlin asked slowly.

"Oh, he just mentioned that he would do anything to ensure that the 'true' king sat on the throne again," Arthur informed him.

"You're saying he threatened Merlin?" Gwaine asked, eyes flashing dangerously.

"We can't have that now can we?" Percival agreed, making Merlin grateful he was Percival's friend. He'd seen the older man snap one of the knight's wrist while arm wrestling.

"I know a way we can make Lord Daniel squirm," Arthur informed the group.

"Does it involve severe bodily harm?" Gwaine asked, a frightening gleam in his eyes.

"No, just follow my lead," Arthur informed them. "And Leon, would you mind gathering the council?"

Grinning, Leon nodded.

"I think I like where this is going!" Gwaine commented.

Very quickly, Arthur found himself standing before a slightly confused but excited looking council. Lord Daniel had a particularly dark gleam in his eyes that startled Arthur. Arthur forced his expression to remain neutral as he addressed the council.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. I have exciting news for you!" Lord Daniel was practically shaking with excitement as Arthur informed them, "I, Arthur Pendragon, fully relinquish the crown to Merlin." Lord Daniel froze, his face taking on a sickly pallor, the rest of the room having similarly startled expressions. "I am going to leave Camelot and become a farmer. My time imprisoned with Morgana showed me that I don't want to be king, Merlin is doing a fine job, and I trust him to take good care of the people."

Gaius smirked lightly, realization dawning on him.

"You cannot!" Lord Daniel shouted, standing up.

"Why not?" Arthur asked, fighting back a smile.

"Can't you see that he's enchanted you!" Lord Daniel snarled, startling Merlin.

Arthur looked over at Merlin, concern evident on his face. "Merlin is loyal to Camelot…" he began slowly.

"He has you all tricked!" Lord Daniel snarled.

"Why do you think he'd do anything to harm Camelot?" Arthur asked.

"He's a sorcerer! And sorcerers can't be trusted!" Lord Daniel snarled.

Arthur stood next to Merlin, frozen. He hadn't expected a lord to act like this!

"You will show him more respect," Arthur growled, causing Lord Daniel to sneer.

"You have no authority to order me."

Arthur whipped out his sword and informed the cowering lord, "I may not be king, but I am still a knight."

"Just look at what he's done! Dozens of innocent people are _dead_ because of him! He doesn't deserve my respect!"

"No, you don't deserve his respect," Gwaine growled.

"I shouldn't have to listen to you common _filth_," Lord Daniel snarled. "Maybe _I_ should be king! I will purge this land of the filth that has destroyed this proud Kingdom!"

Enraged, Percival raised his fist and swung, hitting Lord Daniel. A crack could be heard as Lord Daniel hit the ground. No one dared to speak as Percival glared daggers at the council.

"Take him to the dungeon," Arthur ordered. A pair of guards silently came in and dragged Daniel off. "Make sure to tell him that he can join the common filth."

"Have I ever told you how happy I am to be your friend?" Gwaine asked, patting Percival on the shoulder.

"Wouldn't kill you to mention it more often," Percival replied, looking smug. Merlin looked over at Geoffrey, who clutched the crown in his hands, looking between Arthur and Merlin uncertainly.

Merlin gently took the crown and turned to Arthur. "You are the rightful king, not me."

Arthur reluctantly took the crown, staring at it uncertainly. "Am I really what's best for Camelot?" he whispered.

"It's your destiny," Merlin assured.

Arthur looked up at Merlin, his best friend, the man who would follow him anywhere and give up everything to protect him. He looked over at his men, all of whom where grinning up at him, pride in their eyes. Taking a deep breath, Arthur lifted the crown and placed it on his head.

"Long live the king!" Leon shouted, starting a chorus that rang through the throne room. It was time for Arthur's reign to begin.

**End Notes**

**What did yo guys think? This is unfortunately the end of this series except for maybe some one shots. Hope you enjoyed reading this as I enjoyed writing it!**


End file.
